Ligue 1: AS Monaco prevail over Strasbourg in tight away contest

AS Monaco recorded a crucial 0-1 away victory against Strasbourg, in a match where substitute Eliesse Ben Seghir proved the difference-maker in front of President Dmitry Rybolovlev.

The Match

Having beaten RC Lens and drawn with Paris Saint-Germain in their last two, Adi Hutter picked a strong side in hope of his ASM maintaining their momentum, making just the one change by bringing back Denis Zakaria following his suspension.

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With the match getting off to a slow start while the two outfits settled in, both teams then sprung into life just after the 10 minute mark with chances from Folarin Balogun and Dilane Bakwa respectively.

Strasbourg then had the better of the opportunities for the remainder of the half, with Balogun the only one for the visitors to muster some decent attempts, as the duelling parties headed to the break level.

Balogun came close to kicking off the second stanza in style by unleashing a decent effort that was blocked following some nice work by Takumi Minamino. Wilfried Singo then powered a header on goal only for it to be smartly saved, as Les Rouge et Blanc kept trying to break the deadlock.

Identifying the need to switch things up and try something new, Hutter made a triple substitution to bring on Ben Seghir, Ismail Jakobs and Maghnes Akliouche.

This change immediately paid off, for Ben Seghir bagged the winner after being set up by Akliouche to emphatically vindicate Hutter’s bold decision.

Star playmaker Aleksandr Golovin fired off some decent efforts in search of doubling Monaco’s advantage before Strasbourg mounted a surge to level the ledger.

While Les Monegasques produced some reasonable openings to extend their advantage at the death, they were ultimately content with the 0-1 triumph to claim all three points to ensure they remain third in the standings.

Hutter’s Debrief

“I don’t know if it was a very good match, but the result is very important in any case. I am very happy with this victory and for Eliesse, who scored after having suffered several injuries this season to give us the three points. In Austria, we can call this a “rather dirty” victory,” reflected the Austrian tactician.

“It’s very important to win this afternoon, with a second clean sheet in a row. It’s never easy to play in Strasbourg, especially with this atmosphere. Radek put in a good performance, while Balo had several chances. We managed to take the three points against a team that plays in a low block. I hope we will have learned from previous matches. The final sprint is launched, there are nine matches remaining. We will see where we will be at the end of the season.”

Key Stats

By the numbers, the fact ASM held the ascendancy in terms of expected goals (1.31 to 0.38), total shots (17 to 8), shots on target (6 to 1), shots inside the box (15 to 6), passes in the opposition half (245 to 76) and possession (66% to 34%) underlined they were good value for the win vs. Patrick Vieira’s men.

Lorient on the horizon

Up next for Monaco is a home clash with struggling Lorient, where another victory will be the aim in their quest to breathe further life into their Champions League qualification march.