Ligue 1: AS Monaco go top after victory vs. Rennes

AS Monaco shot to the summit of the Ligue 1 standings following their crucial 1-2 away victory over Stade Rennais at Roazhon Park.

The Match

Knowing his team would need to produce a polished performance to overcome Rennes, who hadn’t tasted defeat at home this term heading in, Adi Hutter shifted his formula to a back three to combat the threat of Rennes while ensuring his offensive philosophy was still nicely catered for.

He was vitally rewarded for his selection, as ASM got off to a flyer, powering to an early lead through Thilo Kehrer’s towering header following Eliesse Ben Seghir’s slick delivery.

Rennes immediately responded courtesy of Ludovic Blas’ venomous blast, which found its way into the top corner, leaving Philipp Kohn powerless to stop it.

The exciting start to the encounter duly continued, with the in-form Folarin Balogun propelling Les Monegasques back ahead in the 22nd minute. Having had his nifty run obliged by Ben Seghir’s incisive through ball, the USMNT star proceeded to finish with aplomb with a superb chip.

Clinical, decisive and sticking to the game plan against a quality Rennes outfit, Monaco entered the interval with the upper hand.

The second stanza began with gusto as well, for Ben Seghir and Arnaud Kalimuendo both struck the woodwork for their respective teams.

With Rennes pushing to level the ledger and Monaco needing some fresh legs, Hutter wisely brought on the likes of George Ilenikhena, Aleksandr Golovin and Krepin Diatta to give his team a boost.

Les Rouge et Blanc then showed tremendous character and collective spirit to manage the match thereafter by defending solidly and controlling the match with and without possession to record an outstanding triumph.

Hutter’s Debrief

“Firstly, I am very proud of my team. To talk about the match, we saw two different periods from our side. We put a lot of intensity in the first half and Rennes too. In the second, we had some difficulties, as the minutes went by Rennes became stronger and stronger,” explained the Austrian tactician.

“Sometimes we were lucky, we defended in a low block, it’s not our style of play, but it can happen in certain situations, depending on the opponent. But no matter, after seven games we have 19 points, so I’m really happy with this victory tonight!

“We have to wait and see what happens tomorrow, but for the moment we are at the top of the table. We are happy with what we are producing, because when you look at last season and especially the final sprint, we only conceded one defeat in 20 games – it was in Lyon (3-2). We are showing some consistency in our matches and for that I am very happy with this young team. But it is only the beginning of the season.”

Key Stats

By the numbers, the fact ASM were second best in terms of expected goals (0.75 to 0.53), total shots (14 to 5), shots inside the box (6 to 4), possession (58% to 42%), touches in the opposition box (26 to 15) and overall duels won (71 to 52) illustrated their efficiency, determination and how they made the most of their opportunities.

Up Next

Continuing their exceptional start to the campaign to extend their unbeaten streak to nine in all competitions, the international break now awaits before Monaco returns to action against an excellent Lille side, where they’ll be eager to carry on their momentum in what will be a busy end to the month.