AS Monaco left frustrated with Lorient draw
AS Monaco
Despite dominating proceedings against relegation-threatened Lorient, AS Monaco could only manage a 0-0 draw.
The Match
Facing the deep sitting Lorient block, Philippe Clement’s men ultimately couldn’t break the deadlock, in a match where they struggled to create regular quality chances.
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The fact Monaco had 15 shots, but only created one big chance and had a lowly expected goals reading of 1.21 illustrates their difficulty in an attacking sense.
Enjoying the upper hand in terms of possession (65% to 35%), corners (11 to 2) and duels won (62 to 47) further depicted their ascendancy, while highlighting their inability to capitalise.
Keeping their third consecutive clean sheet was an undoubted positive from the contest, though, with Les Monegasques restricting Lorient to five shots, zero big chances and a measly XG of 0.19.
Clement’s debrief
Clearly disappointed at not getting the win, Clement’s summary of the match made for interesting reading, with him covering many topics including the return of Aleksandr Golovin. “We only needed one goal to tip this match in our favour. We had many chances. It started in the fourth minute with a header from Vanderson which landed on the wrong side of the post,” he said.
“Conversely, my team managed not to concede too many opportunities on transitions. When I see the number of chances Lorient had against Lens and Paris Saint-Germain in the transitions, I think we were very solid.
“We failed to make the difference (going forward), to find the flaw. We must remain calmer, more serene to make the right decision in front of the opposing goal. It’s hard to evolve against a team that defended with nine or ten. We lost two points.
“I am happy with the return of Golo, he has worked very well in training over the past few days, that’s why I wanted to reward him. Today he couldn’t play more than 30-35 minutes.”
Vanderson shows promise
Handed his first start for Monaco by Clement, the Brazilian didn’t let his manager down by putting in a shift littered with upside. At the heart of so many dangerous offensive forays from Monaco, his incisive movement, shooting threat and class on the ball gave Lorient plenty of headaches.
Also chiming in with nine successful defensive actions from his right wing station, this served as an additional highlight of his strong body of work on both sides of the ball.
Looking forward
Wanting to quickly forget this match, Monaco now shift their focus to their clash with Bordeaux next weekend, where a win is a must to keep in touch with the top three.