Focus on Stade Brest
There is always something going on at the Stade Francis-Le Blé. Whether Brest wins, as against Lorient two weeks ago (3-2), or that Olivier Dall’Oglio’s men fall in a match’s final moments, as they did against OM on the second matchday (3-2), one is never bored at the tip of Brittany this season. It’s an impression that is verified by a look at the table as Stade Brestois 29 have yet to record a draw this season in Ligue 1.Three players trained at AS Monaco
After five matchdays the teammates of Irvin Cardona, who took the time to speak before the game, have recorded two wins and three losses. Their matches have been systematically punctuated with goals and plenty of spectacle, which makes Brest the third best attack in the league, tied with… Monaco. But they also have the worst defense in the top flight so far, with no less than 12 goals conceded, five of which were at home.
It was indeed this defensive permeability that prevented SB29 from obtaining an unlikely result against Olympique de Marseille, despite 19 shots attempted against 7 for OM, and fifteen good chances. Teammates Ibrahima Diallo (leaving for Southampton) and Romain Faivre, who also trained at AS Monaco’s academy, like Irvin Cardona, winner of the Coupe Gambardella in 2016 with the Red and Whites with the youngest of the Diallo brothers, would therefore never refuse to play their style.Even if Olivier Dall’Oglio has admitted having focused the sessions of the last few days partly on defensive work, he has already demonstrated an offensively minded and ambitious game on the Dijon bench .
#SB29ASM 🎙️ O. Dall'Oglio : "À l'@AS_Monaco, il y a un vivier énorme de joueurs en manque de temps de jeu. Pour des équipes comme la nôtre, c'est intéressant d'aller voir dans cette direction et ensuite regarder si on peut donner du temps de jeu à ces garçons-là". pic.twitter.com/T1OwL43anV
— Stade Brestois 29 (@SB29) October 2, 2020
Undeniable attacking assets
Brest conceded three more goals in Angers last weekend in a 3-2 defeat, which brought their average goals conceded to 2.4 after a heavy opening day defeat in Nîmes (4-0). Still, the Bretons, who finished in 14th place last season when Ligue 1 was finally ended, have some attacking strengths. In addition to Irvin Cardona, who arrived from the Principality club in the summer of 2019, and was the author of a sumptuous goal in Dijon, Gaëtan Charbonnier, new signing Steve Mounié and left back Romain Perraud have already each scored two goals since the start of the season.
Two other newcomers this summer have also found the net — Franck Honorat and Romain Philippoteaux. More importantly, Brest have lost just three of their last 16 Ligue 1 matches at the Stade Francis-Le Blé since rising to the top last year. Niko Kovac’s men will therefore have a lot to dor their third away match of the league season, après le succès à Metz lors de la 2e journée (1-0) et la courte défaite en fin match face à Rennes il y a deux semaines (2-1).
Fam. This volley from Irvin Cardona. It makes NO SENSE!!!!! pic.twitter.com/cV6uvTnSqR
— Aaron West (@oeste) September 13, 2020
Press conference excerpts
Read Niko Kovac’s pre-match press conference
Stade Brestois – AS Monaco by the numbers…
. 23: Total matches played in Ligue 1, with 13 wins for AS Monaco, 5 draws and 5 losses (41 goals scored, 15 conceded).
. 11: Total number of matches played in Brittany, with an overall record of 5 wins for AS Monaco, 3 draws and as many losses (14 goals scored, 11 conceded).
. 56.5%: AS Monaco’s winning percentage against Stade Brestois in the top flight, the worst record of the 19 other Ligue 1 teams against the Red and Whites behind Angers (80%) and Nantes (57.1%).
. 76: This is the number of shots the Bretons have attempted this season in the top flight. Only Lyon (101) and Paris (77) have done better.
. 16: This is the number of consecutive matches in which AS Monaco has scored at least one goal in Ligue 1.
