A solid AS Monaco beat Toulouse to finish 2023 well

It was a hard-fought but precious victory! A man down from the 52nd minute after the sending-off of Aleksandr Golovin, AS Monaco were able to maintain the lead they had obtained before the break thanks to a double from Wissam Ben Yedder. Driven by unfailing solidarity in the second period, the Rouge et Blanc left Toulouse with all three points (2-1), and remained on the podium at the end of the first half of the Ligue 1 season.

The context 📅

Stunned at the last moment against Olympique Lyonnais last weekend, the AS Monaco players had no time to dwell on the result as they are were returning to the pitch this Wednesday. For this last day before the winter break, they headed to to Toulouse, occupyingthe first non-relegation place, and would have to regain a level of efficiency which was lacking during the previous match, in order to finish this first half of the season well, and stay on the podium.

The eleven 👥

For the last match of the season’s first half, Adi Hütter had to deal with injuries and suspensions in midfield and in defense (Zakaria, Camara, Matazo and Singo). As a result, the 3-4-1-2 was back with the Ben Yedder-Balogun duo aligned at the forefront. Aleksandr Golovin was lined up next to Youssouf Fofana in midfield, while Soungoutou Magassa and Guillermo Maripán were back in the XI, just like Vanderson.

👥 Le 𝗫𝗜 𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝗲́𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 🆚 @ToulouseFC

‣ #TFCASM pic.twitter.com/lqKCnV0AD3

— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) December 20, 2023

The scenario 🎞

In the chill of the Toulouse night, the AS Monaco players were caught cold in the first minutes by Frank Magri, who scored with a header from six meters (5′). Unfortunately accustomed to conceding an opener in the first quarter of an hour (7 goals conceded over this period), they responded by getting forward and Aleksandr Golovin tried his luck from range, only to see it punched clear by Guillaume Restes (9′). The goalkeeper then won a one-on-one against Folarin Balogun (24′).

Ben Yedder, a sober celebration

Then Takumi Minamino’s attempt was blocked by a defender (26′). Dominant, we were rewarded, on the following action, by Wissam Ben Yedder. On the lookout after a poor clearance, he scored calmly with his left foot (26′). It was, however, a goal that he did not celebrate out of respect after having made his debut for Les Violets. Despite this equalizer, our Rouge et Blanc did not give up and Golo’ tried his luck from the right but his right-footed shot wasn’t on target (34′).

 Wissam clinically gets his double

Before the break, the Principality club continued to push for more and after a one-two between Folarin and Wissam, the American striker was brought down in the area by Rasmus Nicolaisen (43′). A logical penalty was awarded and perfectly converted by the Monegasque captain, scorer for the eighth time this season, which allows AS Monaco to take the lead at the break (44′).

𝗗𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲́ 𝗱𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶' !!!

Penalty transformé par Wissam qui permet aux siens de prendre les devants 🔥🔥🔥

44' | 1⃣-2⃣ #TFCASM pic.twitter.com/OaxFzMPSIS

— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) December 20, 2023

The start of the second half was more balanced and the first chance came for the hosts through Thijs Dallinga, whose header was stopped by Philipp Köhn (50′). Then on a seemingly harmless passage of play, Golovin was sent off for a bad reaction after a foul from Donnum (52′).

A second half played with ten men

There were then more than 40 minutes to play and Adi Hütter’s men had to play with ten men. Toulouse lay siege to the Monegasque goal but lacked a finishing touch, like a curling shot from Donnum which went wide (69′).

To try to stop the opposing attacks, the Austrian manager made a change with the entry of Krépin Diatta (74′). The Senegal international immediately stood out and shot on Guillaume Restes’ goal, but was denied by the foot of the goalkeeper (77′).

A victory won with solidarity

The Rouge et Blanc are united in defense and cleared all the crosses that Toulouse put in (33 in total), and could count on Köhn to clear Dallinga’s strike (90+4′). There was even a last opportunity for Vanderson, who sees his volley from the right come off the post (90+5′).

Come full time, AS Monaco had recorded a valuable win at the Stadium de Toulouse (2-1) and consolidated third place on the podium at the mid-season break. The team’s next match is in 2024 with a trip to Lens for the Round of 64 the Coupe de France, Saturday January 6 at 2:30 p.m. Daghe Munegu! 👏

𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗜𝗥𝗘 😍🔚

En infériorité numérique, nos Rouge & Blanc terminent l'année par un succès précieux sur la pelouse de Toulouse 👊

𝗗𝗔𝗚𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗘𝗚𝗨 ❤️🤍

1⃣-2⃣ #TFCASM pic.twitter.com/pwUn4jnomZ

— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) December 20, 2023

Key moments 🎥

5′: Magri opens the scoring with a header (1-0)
9′: A powerful strike by Golovin is punched clear by Restes
24′: Balogun has a one-on-one but can’t beat Restes
26′: Minamino’s shot is blocked by a Toulouse defender
26′: An equalizer by Ben Yedder who beats the goalkeeper with his left foot (1-1)
34′: A curling shot from Golovin goes over the bar
43′: A penalty is won by Balogun following a foul by Nicolaisen…
44′: …and perfectly converted by Ben Yedder (1-2)!
50′: Dallinga’s header is stopped by Köhn on his line
52′: Golovin is sent off for a bad reaction to a foul
69′: A strike from the edge of the area by Donnum flashes wide
77′: A cross comes to Diatta in front of goal but Restes keeps his effort out
90+4′: Dallinga is denied by Köhn
90+5′: Vanderson’s righ-footed volley comes off the post

The stat 📊

As has been the case regularly since the start of the season, AS Monaco was able to turn around a situation that had started poorly. Our Rouge et Blanc have indeed gained 14 points after being behind in Ligue 1 this season, more than any other team. Conversely, Toulouse have lost 15 after being ahead.

📋 Match details:

Wednesday, December 20 – Stadium de Toulouse

Ligue 1 – Matchday 17: Toulouse FC 1-2 AS Monaco

Halftime: 1-2

Goals: Ben Yedder (27′), (44′, penalty) for AS Monaco; Magri (5′) for Toulouse

Bookings: Salisu (3′), Diop (57′), Magassa (66′), Hütter (76′) for AS Monaco; Costa (45+3′), Donnum (53′) for Toulouse

Dismissals: Golovin (52′) for AS Monaco

Toulouse FC: Restes – Mawissa (Kamanzi, 67′), Costa, Nicolaisen, Suazo – Gelabert (Cissoko, 67′), Spierings, Casseres (Skyttä, 78′) – Dönnum (Bangré, 88′), Dallinga, Magri

Substitutes: Dominguez, Diarra, Kamanzi, Keben, Genreau, Skyttä, Cissoko, Begraoui, Bangré

Manager: Carles Martinez Novell

AS Monaco: Köhn – Magassa, Maripán, Salisu – Vanderson, Minamino (Diatta, 74′), Fofana, Golovin, Jakobs – Balogun (Diop, 55′), Ben Yedder © (Boadu, 89′)

Substitutes: Majecki, Matsima, Ouattara, Akliouche, Coulibaly, Diatta, Diop, Boadu, Efekele

Manager: Adi Hütter