Sofiane Diop named MVP of the win at Troyes
It was almost as if he had scored a double to celebrate his first call-up with the French U-21s. Selected this week by Sylvain Ripoll to play two qualifying matches for Euro 2023, Sofiane Diop shone against Troyes on Sunday. Scorer of two goals – including third in all competitions – he allowed the Rouge et Blanc to record their first victory in Ligue 1 this season (2-1) and get the Monegasques’ season up and running.
Two goals and in control
Starting for the fourth time in a row in the league, the young midfielder opened the scoring just before half-time. Well found by Wissam Ben Yedder in front of goal, all he had to do was tap the ball into the net (40′) to open the scoring.
📽️ Le cadeau de @WissBenYedder pour l'ouverture du score signée @SofianeDiop ! 💥
𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 🤜🤛 #ESTACASM pic.twitter.com/yhQhF6uHVN
— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) August 30, 2021
Then on the hour mark, after Troyes had leveled the score, Sofiane Diop took advantage of a magnificent long ball from Youssouf Fofana to win his duel against Gauthier Gallon (57th), scoring with a cold-blooded finish. With eight ball recoveries, he was even close to a hat trick a minute later but effort was blocked by the Trojans’ goalkeeper.
📽️ Le doublé de @SofianeDiop sur une magnifique passe signée @fofana22_ 👊 #ESTACASM pic.twitter.com/gw2ar8iOhB
— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) August 30, 2021
Only Amine Gouiri has done better
No matter, though — the newly minted French U-21 international had his first brace in the top flight and allowed AS Monaco to record their first victory. Sofiane Diop also confirms his rise since the start of last season, and his return to the Principality club. With nine goals over this period, he ranks second among French players aged 21 or under across the five major European leagues — only Nice’s Amine Gouiri has done better (15).
🔥 @SofianeDiop sur le podium des meilleurs buteurs français de 21 ans ou moins#ESTACASM pic.twitter.com/vwoLR7zYII
— Ligue 1 Uber Eats (@Ligue1UberEats) August 29, 2021
This statistic and his match logically earned him his first MVP of the season, with 81% of the fans’ votes on the AS Monaco App. Bravo Sofiane!
2021-2022 MVP Recap
First half:
(UCL Third Preliminary Round first leg) Sparta Prague 0-2 AS Monaco: Aurélien Tchouameni (1)
(Ligue 1 Matchday 1) AS Monaco 1-1 Nantes: Gelson Martins (1)
(UCL Third Preliminary Round second leg) AS Monaco 3-1 Sparta Prague: Gelson Martins (2)
(Ligue 1 Matchday 2) FC Lorient 1-0 AS Monaco: Stahinja Pavlović (1)
(UCL playoffs first leg) AS Monaco 0-1 Shakhtar Donetsk : Aleksandr Golovin (1)
(Ligue 1 Matchday 3) AS Monaco 0-2 RC Lens: Jean Lucas (1)
(UCL playoffs second leg) Shakhtar Donetsk 2-2 AS Monaco: Wissam Ben Yedder (1) and Djibril Sidibé (1)
(Ligue 1 Matchday 4) ESTAC Troyes 1-2 AS Monaco: Sofiane Diop (1)
