Three positives from AS Monaco’s draw with Lille
While AS Monaco were reasonably content with claiming a point vs. LOSC Lille given they played roughly 30 minutes with 10 men, there was still a sense it was a case of two points lost for Les Monegasques.
Having been the far superior team, produced many presentable chances, defended brilliantly and controlled proceedings with and without possession, a theme that didn’t change that much after the red card either, this match certainly could’ve been a different story if they’d converted their chances and not gone short-handed.
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With this in mind, this gives us the opportunity to focus on three takeaways from this encounter.
High pressing a major highlight
Monaco’s high pressing was a key aspect from their draw with Lille, for their aggression and tenacity made life extremely difficult for Lille to progress up the pitch coherently.
Coordinated, intense and doing a superb job of closing down options with their smartly timed and angled pressure to block passing lanes behind them, Lille struggled immensely due to ASM’s aptitude in this regard.
Very effective at limiting options by locking onto their foes, using the touchline as an extra defender and getting the far-side winger to tuck in to monitor a Lille central midfielder, Adi Hutter’s strategy was implemented with great success.
Not only did Monaco’s prowess here allow them to set the tone from the outset and gain a foothold by imposing themselves on their adversaries, but it also provided them with a quality source of chance creation. Regularly winning the ball back high in advantageous areas by forcing turnovers or regaining possession directly, they conjured many openings through this avenue.
The below examples aptly illustrate what a weapon their pressing was and how effectively Monaco executed Hutter’s plans.
“We started well by pressing high up the pitch, winning back a lot of balls to get out there quickly to score. That is our style of play, but today, we may have lacked efficiency. In any case, we will keep our heads up and continue to work,” stated George Ilenikhena.
Proving a valuable string to their bow and a vital weapon in their armoury, watch for this to continue being an integral asset for ASM moving forward.
Majecki’s successful return
Starting his first game of the season following a frustrating ankle injury on the eve of the new campaign, Radoslaw Majecki picked up where he left off by putting in an accomplished showing between the posts.
Given the nod byHutter after Philipp Kohn had enjoyed a fine opening to the campaign in place of the Pole, Majecki certainly vindicated the faith of his manager courtesy of his polished body of work.
“Radoslaw will be back in goal tomorrow. Last season, when Philipp arrived, he was clearly the No. 1, then we changed during the season to Radek, who became our first-choice goalkeeper,” explained Hutter in his pre-match press conference.
“It was largely thanks to him that we got to the Champions League. We then swapped positions when he got injured in the summer, but now that he’s back and fit, he’s taking his place. It was a very tough decision to make because Philipp had a very good start to the season.
“We had a conversation with both goalkeepers. I had a lot of empathy for Philipp, who works hard every day, but he was really professional and he respects this decision. Radek owes his return to his performances last year. In twelve games, he had kept six clean sheets and had been truly incredible. But I have not forgotten that Philipp has done a remarkable job this season. I repeat, I am happy to be able to count on three top goalkeepers. I would also like to highlight Yann Lienard, in whom I also have confidence.”
Although he was rarely tested by a Lille side who struggled to create many opportunities, it was important to note the 24-year-old still stood up when called into action to help his team keep a coveted clean sheet.
Tall, physically commanding and powerful, the towering 193 cm shot-stopper hardly put a foot wrong on what was a tidy return to action.
Set to give him a nice boost of confidence ahead of many more stern tests to come, this was just the comeback the man who crucially has the full belief and trust of his manager needed.
Vital clean sheet kept following strong defensive showing
Supplementing Majecki in goal, much upside could also be extracted from how ASM superbly limited a dangerous Lille from generating hardly any chances.
Organised, disciplined and all on the same page, there was plenty to admire about their formidable, collectively strong defensive display on their way to securing their fourth clean sheet of the campaign.
Dealing smoothly with the multifaceted threat Lille boasted, that included elite forward Jonathan David and exceptionally talented winger Edon Zhegrova, the ASM backline deserve immense credit for remaining focused and concentrated to shut out Les Dogues.
While Lille manufactured some danger on the counter, the fact Monaco restricted them to just three shots, one shot on target, one corner, zero big chances created and an open play expected goals reading of just 0.11 served as a testament to their stopping excellence.
“What we are doing defensively is great, because we are only conceding very few chances to the opponent. I am happy with that, but we must continue our process and continue to make progress,” Hutter insisted.
Determined and well-structured both when defending deeper or when pressing higher (as mentioned earlier), plus shrewdly fulfilling their marking assignment, their opponents certainly endured a tough night at the office trying to break down the Monaco rearguard.