Ligue 1: AS Monaco secure crucial win vs. Angers

AS Monaco returned to the winners list with an accomplished 1-2 victory over Angers on the road.

The Match

Having suffered two devastating consecutive defeats, Philippe Clement’s men were desperate not to make it three in a row. And that they did by putting in a solid shift to take home all three points, as goals from Aleksandr Golovin and Myron Boadu powered them to victory.

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Making a host of changes for this one while changing to a back three, these alterations paid off for the Belgian manager, for his team raced out to a brilliant start.

Enjoying two chances inside the first three minutes to set the tone nicely, this gave them an ideal confidence boost to kick-off proceedings. They then kept up this momentum, as they unleashed plentiful efforts on net in the opening half hour.

Monaco were eventually rewarded for all their good work when they took the lead just before the interval when Golovin scored a beauty from Vanderson’s neat pass.

Coming out for the second stanza eager to build on their strong output, they didn’t have to wait long to double their lead. Here, following a delightful through ball from Youssouf Fofana, Boadu was on hand to latch onto it and finish with aplomb.

Frustratingly, Angers equalised just four minutes later through Abdallah Sima, but Monaco crucially recalibrated their focus to see out the game and claim a much-needed victory.

Boadu and Matsima’s Debrief

Boadu

“Before this game, we knew we had to win here and we did. It hasn’t always been perfect, but the three points are recovered, it’s the most important thing today to recover after two difficult games,” he insisted.

“It’s the second time I’ve scored here after last season’s game. But I have to do it even more. I know that I still have to improve in this area. I’m very happy because I helped the team by scoring and defending as well. Now, I hope to be able to score my first goal at the Stade Louis II next week against Lille.”

Matsima

“Today, we had the ambition to come to Angers with character and to leave with the three points. The most important thing now will be to keep pushing and to show a very good state of mind during these last four meetings. If we realise this, it can only go up. The match against Lille promises to be important. We will now have to recover and train well this week to prepare well for the match against LOSC,” he explained.

Key Stats

By the numbers, the fact ASM held the ascendancy in terms of expected goals (2.08 to 0.97), total shots (14 to 10), shots on target (6 to 3), shots inside the box (8 to 4), interceptions (13 to 5) and aerial duels won(15 to 11), despite only having 39% possession, illustrated how well their gameplan worked.