A clinical AS Monaco beat Brest to take over second place

Under the eyes of President Dmitry Rybolovlev, the Monegasques, clinical and solid despite playing with fewer men at the end of the match, won away to Brest pitch (0-2). It’s a result which allows the Rouge et Blanc to move into second place in Ligue 1 ahead of their opponent on the day.

The context 📅

After two weeks without a match, AS Monaco were back in Ligue 1 with a trip to Brest, second in the standings. One point behind their opponents at kickoff, our Rouge et Blanc had the opportunity to make the best of the weekend by overtaking their opponent of the day in the event of victory, and continue at the same time their excellent away form (six wins from their last seven matches).

The eleven 👥

For this top-of-the-table clash, Adi Hütter had to deal with the absences through injury of Aleksandr Golovin and Ismail Jakobs, as well as the suspension of Thilo Kehrer. We thus saw the return of a 3-man defense made up of Singo, Maripán and Salisu. Vanderson and Krépin Diatta would play as wingbacks, and Folarin Balogun led the line ahead of Takumi Minamino and Maghnes Akliouche.

👥 Le 𝗫𝗜 𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝗲́𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 🆚 @SB29

‣ #SB29ASM pic.twitter.com/0Pajmf5wft

— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) April 21, 2024

The scenario 🎞

In front of an away end filled with nearly 400 Monegasques present to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Ultras, the Rouge et Blanc established a high pressu from the start. They thus obtained several corners, and on one of them, Mohammed Salisu was close to being found by Maghnes Akliouche (7′). The match was then more balanced even as Martin Satriano’s over-hit shot, flirted with the post of Radoslaw Majecki (19′).

A moment of genius from ‘Zak’ to open the scoring

Opportunities were rare on both sides and as we headed towards this goalless draw, Denis Zakaria decided to come out of his box. Following a poor opponent’s recovery, the Swiss midfielder recovered the ball at the edge of the area, before curling a perfect shot into Bizot’s top corner (40′). It was a sublime opener from a player who scored his fourth goal of the season, having done the same in the reverse fixture.

🥰🇨🇭

0️⃣-1⃣ #SB29ASM pic.twitter.com/1ym5WOyh23

— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) April 21, 2024

Diatta-Taki’, the perfect connection

Building on their momentum from having opened the scoring, the Monegasques began the second period at full throttle. At the end of a great play, Takumi Minamino crossed the ball in front of the goal but no one was able to meet it (47′).

It was only a postponement since shortly thereafter, after a one-two between Akliouche and Diatta, the Senegalese laid the ball of the Japanese, who found the back of the net (48′). At first flagged offside, the goal was finally validated by VAR and our number 18 had his eighth goal of the season.

Chances to make it 0-3

It was a perfect start to the last 45 minutes, as Adi Hütter’s men had complete control of the game and forced Brest into several mistakes. The French U-21 international Maghnes Akliouche obtained a good free kick from 25 meters, which he took himself, flashing just wide (60′). On the lookout for a goal, Maghnes then turned provider by finding Folarin Balogun with a long abll. Against Bizot, he then attempted a chipped effort which the goalkeeper managed to stop (75′).

Allez les gars, on continue 👊

73' | 0️⃣-2⃣ #SB29ASM pic.twitter.com/hjyCGJVlKT

— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) April 21, 2024

The return of Breel Embolo!

The hosts tried to react but had to settle for only long shots, like that of Mathias Pereira-Lage. There was no danger for Radoslaw Majecki since it flew over the bar (83′). Just after this, the Monegasque manager made a change with the return of Breel Embolo, eight months after a serious knee injury (84′).

Deux nouveaux changements :

🟢 Ben Yedder & 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗟 𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗢𝗟𝗢 😍🔙
🔴 Balogun & Minamino ⚽️

84' | 0️⃣-2⃣ #SB29ASM

— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) April 21, 2024

Victory and second place secured

The end of the match was electric and Eliesse Ben Seghir as well as Wilfried Singo were sent off in added time (90+2′), (90+5′). Regardless of these facts of the game, the Rouge et Blanc held on and won 0-2 at Stade Francis Le Blé again keeping a clean sheet.

This result therefore allows them to call it job done for the weekend and seize second place, with a game in hand over the Bretons. The team’s next match is Wednesday (9 p.m.) with Lille coming to the Stade Louis-II, for another big match at the top of the table.

𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗜𝗥𝗘 😍🔚

Nos Monégasques s'imposent avec autorité à Brest !!!

𝗗𝗔𝗚𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗘𝗚𝗨 ✊

0️⃣-2⃣ #SB29ASM pic.twitter.com/WXMpitWoUS

— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) April 21, 2024

Key moments 🎥

19′: An overhit shot across goal by Satriano flirts with Majecki’s post
40′: A sublime curling effort from Zakaria reaches the top corner of Bizot’s goal (0-1)
47′: Minamino delivers a fine cross in front of goal but no one can reach it
48′: Minamino gets on the end of a cross from Diatta and doubles the lead (0-2)
60′: A free kick goes slightly wide from Akliouche
75′: Bizot saves against Balogun, after he tries a chipped effort
83′: A strike by Pereira-Lage goes over
87′: Satriano’s header is on target but captured by Radek
90+2′: A red card for Ben Seghir after a bad reaction

The stat 📊

Denis Zakaria has scored 50% of his goals in Ligue 1 against Brest (goal scorer in both legs, 2/4). The Monaco midfielder equaled his best total of goals in the same season in the five major European championships (4, level with his 2018/19 season with Borussia Mönchengladbach).

📋 Match details:

Sunday April 21 – Stade Francis Le Blé

Ligue 1 – Matchday 30: Stade Brestois – AS Monaco

Halftime: 0-1

Goals: Zakaria (40′), Minamino (48′) for AS Monaco

Bookings: Le Cardinal (58′), Lala (69′), Camara (85′), Magnetti (90+2′), Le Douaron (90+5′) for Brest ; Zakaria (44′), Akliouche (65′) for AS Monaco

Dismissals: Ben Seghir (90+2′), Singo (90+5′)

Stade Brestois: Bizot – Lala, Chardonnet ©, Le Cardinal, Loko – Magnetti, Martin (Pereira-Lage, 79′), Doumbia (Camara, 62′) – Del Castillo (Brahimi, 86′), Mounié (Le Douaron, 62′), Satriano

Substitutes: Coudert, Amavi, Zogbé, Camara, Lebeau, Pereira Lage, Brahimi, Camblan, Le Douaron

Manager: Eric Roy

AS Monaco: Majecki – Singo, Maripán, Salisu – Diatta, Fofana ©, Zakaria (Camara, 78′), Vanderson – Akliouche (Ben Seghir, 78′), Minamino (Embolo, 84′) – Balogun (Ben Yedder, 84′)

Substitutes: Köhn, Ouattara, Ben Seghir, Camara, Coulibaly, Diop, Magassa, Ben Yedder, Embolo

Manager: Adi Hütter