AS Monaco impress in draw with PSG
AS Monaco
AS Monaco produced a polished performance against a star studded Paris Saint-Germain to record a draw in a match where they impressively held their own vs. the Parisian giants.
The Match
Starting the colossal clash with intensity and aggression, Les Monegasques immediately put their adversaries on the back foot. Looking fired up after their loss against Lens last week, PSG struggled to get going, with Philippe Clement’s decision to opt for a three at the back formation paying dividends immediately for Monaco.
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The Red and White importantly capitalised on their fast start too, as the energetic Mohamed Camara smartly dispossessed Lionel Messi with a precise sliding tackle to set the wheels in motion for the move that ended with Kevin Volland expertly scoring in the 20th minute.
Keeping up their high level, Caio Henrique then almost doubled their lead 33 minutes in from a free kick, as Monaco were on top in all phases of the game. Indeed, the fact it took PSG 36 minutes to even have a shot on target illustrated Monaco’s dominance.
Heading into the break leading and in control, Wissam Ben Yedder almost instantly doubled their lead after the restart, but he unfortunately misplaced his shot. From there, PSG began to impose themselves on the contest, with them finally flexing their muscles and creating some danger going forward.
After hitting the post just before the hour mark through Renato Sanches, PSG eventually levelled things up when Neymar expertly slotted home his penalty 20 minutes from time.
The final stages of the match saw PSG push hard to find a winner, but Monaco valiantly held firm and defended doggedly to earn a deserved point away from home.
Disasi’s Debrief
“Honestly it’s a good point taken, even if there is a slight disappointment in a way, not to have managed to maintain the advantage and not to come away with the victory,” Axel Disasi explained.
“I think we had a very good start to the match and overall a good first period, even if they hit the post twice. We managed to open the scoring on our first opportunity thanks to Kevin. Then on the way back from the locker room they caused us more problems and they managed to come back on this penalty. But I think we can be proud of our performance tonight.
“We knew we had to play a great game against this Paris Saint-Germain team, which made a big start in the league by scoring 17 goals in three games. So we were keen to show that we could compete with this team. And I think that’s what we showed on the pitch.”
Camara shines
Making his first start for Monaco, Camara put in an exceptional shift on the big stage as he handled the occasion with aplomb.
Looking right at home and unfazed facing off with PSG, the ball winning machine was a constant thorn in the side of his opponents. Constantly applying pressure, making vital interventions to break up attacks and showing great awareness to track opponents in his designated area of operation, there was much to admire about his excellent body of work.
Aside from his tackle that served as the catalyst for Monaco to open the scoring, how he handled himself against the classy Marco Verratti and Sanches in the PSG was another huge positive.
The statistics accentuated his great night at the office on both sides of the ball, for he won nine ground duels and completed seven ball recoveries, plus hit three accurate long balls, had a pass completion rate of 87% and drew four fouls.
Defining figures
By the numbers, Monaco’s determined defensive efforts to restrict arguably the world’s most formidable frontline was depicted by the stats that saw them make 15 tackles, 15 interceptions, 11 clearances and win 46 ground duels.
Moreover, Alexander’s Nubel’s exceptional efforts in goal deserve mention too, for he made a game-changing four saves to help his team secure a valuable point.
Up next
Currently sitting in 12th place but just two points behind fourth, Monaco will now shift their focus to their midweek game with Troyes, where they’ll be hoping to build on this strong showing and claim a vital victory.