Ligue 1: AS Monaco produce wicked comeback to salvage a dramatic draw vs. Nantes
Although AS Monaco couldn’t extend their winning streak to begin the Ligue 1 season, many positives could still be extracted from how they mounted admirable comebacks twice from two goals down to claim a 3-3 draw vs. Nantes at the death.
The Match
Picking an unchanged line-up from their win over Strasbourg, Adi Hutter justifiably wanted to stick to this formula for success in his quest to keep their impeccable run alive.
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ASM frustratingly began the match on the back foot, though, with them swiftly conceding a penalty that Mostafa Mohamed converted. The away team then responded rapidly, as Caio Henrique struck the woodwork with a free-kick before Les Monegasques had a strong shout for a penalty that was strangely denied.
Les Canaris then immediately went up the other end and scored again through Jean-Charles Castelletto. 2-0 down inside 15 minutes, ASM then rallied and eventually halved the deficit near the half-hour mark when Takumi Minamino found the back of the net following a superb assist from Henrique.
Despite Wissam Ben Yedder, Wilfried Singo and Soungoutou Magassa unleashing efforts before the break, the score remained 2-1 at the interval.
Eager to make further strides in the second stanza, Hutter’s men disappointingly made a rough opening just like in the first half, as Mustafa made it 3-1.
Well and truly with it all to do, Monaco deserve credit for producing an impressive recovery to get back into the match. Ben Wedder got the wheels rolling for their comeback to gain traction when he scored from close range.
The push for the equaliser then really gathered momentum, for ASM launched a plethora of attacks on the home side. Myron Boadu then ensured all their good work ultimately paid off courtesy of his opportunistic effort to level the ledger five minutes from time.
Salvaging a point against all odds, this result importantly means Monaco remain undefeated and still occupy first in the standings (at the time of writing).
Hutter’s Debrief
“I think it was a fantastic match with two teams who wanted to win. We didn’t give Nantes too many gifts, but they managed to score three goals. According to the stats, I think we deserved to win as we had 27 shots, including 10 on target,” explained the Austrian.
“I am both disappointed, but happy with the reaction of my team because we were able to show the character to come back and our very good physical shape. The proposed game is also the one I want to set up. We are a great team, but we cannot be satisfied with conceding three goals. One thing is certain, it is an important point in the process, which gives us seven in three games. We are on the right path.”
Key Stats
By the numbers, how Monaco held the ascendancy in terms of expected goals (3.75 to 0.91), total shots (27 to 3), shots on target (10 to 3), shots inside the box (17 to 3), big chances created (8 to 1), corners (10 to 1) and passes in the opposition half (395 to 137) added weight to Hutter’s argument that his team did enough to triumph.
Lens Awaits
A tantalising clash with Franck Haise’s outstanding Lens outfit is up next for ASM, where they’ll be hoping to maintain their positive form, in a match that’s set to provide plenty of excitement and intrigue.