AS Monaco suffered their first loss of 2021 against Strasbourg in a frustrating match away from home. Here are our player ratings from the match.
Benjamin Lecomte (6): Produced many excellent saves to keep his team in with a chance, with his second half save from Ludovic Ajorque especially outstanding. Will be disappointed he couldn’t keep Frederic Guilbert’s shot out.
Caio Henrique (6): Embarked on some nice infield runs after rotating with Aleksandr Golovin and was always eager to motor forward to fire crosses into the area. Wasn’t as at his free flowing best, but did well enough. Replaced by Fode Ballo-Toure.
Djibril Sidibe (6): Good effort from Sidibe, who did some tidy things offensively and defensively. Surged upfield with some energetic dribbles and held his own in his duels against his physical foes.
Benoit Badiashile (6): Aside from not getting out to press Guilbert before his goal, Badiashile was sound. Did well in his battles with Ajorque and defended effectively on his way to winning seven headers and making nine clearances. Wasn’t able to impose himself on the game with his passing.
Guillermo Maripan (6): Looked pretty comfortable in his defensive work, as his positioning and nous saw him deal with Strasbourg reasonably well. Passing not at his usual level either, with him turning the ball over too frequently.
Ruben Aguilar (6): Tireless and full of energy, the combative Frenchman worked as hard as ever on both sides of the ball. Although he linked play well on occasions, sometimes his end product wasn’t at the desired level. Replaced by Sofiane Diop.
Aurelien Tchouameni (7): Broke up play expertly using his smart positioning and fine ability to read the play. Passed the ball coherently over short, medium and long distances. By the numbers, his six tackes, three clearances, two interceptions and two blocked shots illustrated his quality output.
Youssouf Fofana (6): Put in a shift for his team again, with his driving forward runs and ball winning prowess standing out. Didn’t hit his usual level against his former side though. Replaced by Stevan Jovetic.
Aleksandr Golovin (4.5): Frustrating evening for the Russian, who couldn’t stamp his mark on the contest. Was often marked effectively by Alexander Djiku, which saw him struggle to find space to get on the ball. Replaced by Krepin Diatta.
Kevin Volland (5): Dovetailed pretty well with Wissam Ben Yedder in terms of his movement, but another who was unable to impact proceedings. Credit to Strasbourg for thwarting the German. Replaced by Cesc Fabregas.
Wissam Ben Yedder (5.5): Intelligent movement saw him drop deep into midfield to form overloads to connect play and create space for Volland. Struck a wicked volley, but was starved of opportunities throughout this difficult match. Never gave up and did all he could for his team.