Analysis: Golovin’s starting return littered with upside for AS Monaco
Aleksandr Golovin made a successful return to the starting line-up for AS Monaco, as the masterful playmaker produced a showing full of upside vs. Auxerre.
Having come back from his ankle injury prior to the international break vs. RC Lens, where he played eight minutes, the 28-year-old clearly made the most of the period between games in training to get up to speed in order to be prepared for this encounter.
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Deployed in the number 10 position by Adi Hutter for this one, the gifted attacking midfielder was a persistent thorn in the side of Auxerre.
Wreaking havoc with his intelligent movement in particular, this served him with a formidable foundation to impact proceedings heavily.
A wizard at exploiting space between and either side of AJA’s midfield and defence, there was a lot to like about how he breathed life into Monaco’s attacks with his ability to evade opponents.
Offering himself as an ideal outlet to get into dangerous central positions in the offensive third for Les Rouge et Blanc, the way he expertly scanned to ensure he constantly had an updated mental imagery of his surroundings was key towards his success.
Able to shrewdly know if a teammate was pinning one or multiple markers, something Breel Embolo did very well, notice if a passing lane had opened up or identify if a defender was out of position or preoccupied, the attentive Golovin hardly missed a beat to punish any weaknesses in the Auxerre structure.
Doing a brilliant job of forming positional and numerical superiorities in the process, plus strategically creating space for teammates to use, he certainly had a positive impact on ASM’s ability to progress into the final third and carve out some handy openings.
Moreover, how he astutely performed rotations with nominal wingers, Maghnes Akliouche and Eliesse Ben Seghir, compounded issues for Auxerre, for it added some vital variety while continuously altering reference points for their stoppers.
It was also notable how he embarked on some crafty runs in behind, down the channels and into the box to amplify his menace. Indeed, the example below underlined his smarts and reading of the play aptly, as he waited for Ben Seghir to drop deep to lure out his opponent before Golovin then surged into the freshly vacated space in behind.
His quality in possession also came into sharp focus on many occasions, where his nifty dribbling and inventive distribution rose to the fore.
To start with the former, and the man with a superb first touch and Velcro-like ball control excelled with the ball at his feet in close quarters especially to wriggle free of danger and draw markers.
Boasting a handy repertoire of manoeuvres to outfox foes, including some sharp feints, shimmies and stepovers, Golovin was unquestionably a tough man to keep tabs on.
Moreover, his underrated strength to withstand pressure, how he adjusted his body to receive on his back foot to protect the ball while gaining separation and how he shrewdly changed pace and direction with whirring twists and turns elevated his nuisance.
Then, in terms of his passing, Golovin’s ability to break the lines and conjure openings with his tremendous vision and execution was instrumental towards him injecting impetus into Les Monegasques’ upfield forays.
Not only did he strike some measured through balls, crosses and passes to feet, but the way he also engaged in some slick interplay in confined zones with tidy flicks and backheels ensured Monaco could move the ball quickly to forward facing teammates to manipulate and subsequently cut through the Auxerre backline.
By the numbers, his four key passes, four dribbles, four touches inside the box, four fouls suffered and two progressive runs punctuated his eye-catching influence.
Bright, lively and bringing so much to the table, it was terrific to see Golovin back out there and putting in such a polished outing.
Even though he’s still not yet at his free-flowing best, which will come in time, just having him back available is a huge boost for Hutter’s Monaco.
A real game-changer who can orchestrate moments of magic out of nowhere, watch for the uniquely talented Golovin to keep stamping his mark in the upcoming fixtures.
Next up for Monaco is their mouthwatering Champions League clash with Barcelona, which is just the game where his combination of skills, smarts and experience could be just the X-factor they need to secure a desirable result on the big stage.