Sofiane Diop: "This match reflects our current state of mind"

To start the year well, the players of AS Monaco have imposed themselves away to Lorient (5-2) this Wednesday evening, as part of the 18th Matchday of Ligue 1. His entry into play was to have been important in the course of this match. The young AS Monaco midfielder, Sofiane Diop, scored his second goal in two games in Brittany, his fifth this season. After a lively second half, he expressed his satisfaction at a post-match press conference.

You came into play before scoring, how did you experience this match?

We knew it was not going to be an easy game. We never doubted ourselves. This first half left us some regrets, because we could clearly have done better. The coach spoke at the break and his message was heard. We were able to rectify the situation to win by a large margin.

The top story of the evening is surely that of Aleksandr Golovin…

His entry was very beneficial for the team. He came off the bench and received this corner. He was not closed down and he scored a magnificent strike from outside the penalty area. I am very happy for him. Coming back from a long period being out through injury is never easy. We are very happy to have him with us. We hope he will help us win other matches in the future, as he did this evening. He really came back at the right time.

You showed a different side of yourselves in the second half, didn’t you?

This match reflects our current state of mind. We raised our heads after conceding two equalizers. It was not an easy thing to do but we did it, we did not give up. The character of the match forced us to move forward and show our strength of character. We had to score as many goals as possible in order to win.

Relive AS Monaco’s victory in Lorient in images.