Coupe de France: Dominant AS Monaco secure superb victory over Union Saint-Jean
AS Monaco comfortably outclassed Union Saint-Jean to kick off their Coupe de France campaign with an impressive 1-4 victory.
The Match
While Adi Hutter and his assistant coach, Christian Peintinger, who was on the sidelines for this one due to Hutter’s suspension, were well aware their team had a huge advantage in quality over their opponents that play five divisions lower than Les Monegasques, they still picked a strong squad, making sure not to underestimate their adversaries. The most notable inclusion came in the form of Yann Lienard being handed his professional debut, as the Monaco starting line-up was littered with class across the pitch.
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Dominating early and in control in the opening exchanges, there was much to admire about how ASM settled into the game and imposed themselves on the contest with their prowess in possession.
Takumi Minamino was first to fire off a meaningful attempt, but his shot was blocked in the 10th minute. Another chance came the way of the Japanese star, but Fawzi Rabyi came off his line to chime in with a crucial intervention to stop the forward in a 1v1 situation.
Les Monegasques weren’t to be denied, however, eventually taking the lead in the 20th minute through Eliesse Ben Seghir, who scored brilliantly following a wonderful assist from Breel Embolo.
Monaco kept up the pressure and continued to generate many promising openings, with Jordan Teze, Minamino and Embolo unleashing efforts before Vanderson doubled their advantage in the 37th minute. Applying his finish clinically after latching onto Minamino’s dangerous cross nicely, the Brazilian was fittingly rewarded for his marauding run to put himself in a terrific position to grab his first goal of the season.
Les Rouge et Blanc then had a chance to add another prior to the interval when Minamino won a penalty, but Embolo had his spot-kick saved smartly by Rabyi.
Coming out swinging to begin the second half, some excellent chances fell the way of substitute Kassoum Ouattara and Minamino.
Monaco’s aggressive pressing then saw them awarded another penalty. The excellent Rabyi was on hand to prevent ASM again, though, expertly getting down and across to deny Minamino.
It wasn’t long until ASM got their third courtesy of Teze’s sensational strike from range to propel them 0-3 ahead.
Despite being in complete control and with victory essentially in the bag, Monaco deserved credit for continuing to push on.
While the exciting George Ilenikhena came close twice, it was Union Saint-Jean who found the back of the net next via Benjamim Tournier.
Ilenikhena emphatically restored his team’s three-goal lead late on by smashing home his finish with aplomb to ensure Monaco ran out 1-4 winners.
Peintinger’s Debrief
“It was a tough match, but the most important thing was to qualify for the next round. So I’m happy that we were able to win this round of 32 game against Union Saint-Jean. It was a good match in a great atmosphere at the stadium, and I think the spectators enjoyed it. It wasn’t easy for the players at the end of the year, but the match was still of quality,” explained the ASM assistant coach.
“I’m not really happy that we missed so many opportunities, especially the two penalties we earned. But it must be said that our opponent had a great goalkeeper today. On our side, we conceded a goal from a free kick that was avoidable in my opinion. Despite everything, we made a lot of changes, so I’m happy for the victory and for the qualification. They were a very brave opponent, who took advantage of the reduction in the deficit to get the support of the public in this big stadium. If you concede a second goal in this situation, it can become very dangerous. But we managed to score the fourth goal to seal the victory, and that is the main thing.”
“In terms of mentality, our players were up to par. It wasn’t easy, because we’re halfway through the season and there are a lot of injured players, so we had to rotate. It’s been a difficult season, where the matches come one after the other, and it was important to get the win before the break.”
Key Stats
By the numbers, the fact ASM held the ascendancy in terms of expected goals (5.76 to 0.55), total shots (27 to 6), shots on target (12 to 6), big chances created (7 to 2), shots inside the box (21 to 3), possession (69% to 31%), touches in the opposition box (49 to 9) and overall duels won (56 to 34) illustrated what a tremendous force to be reckoned with they were.
Up Next
Monaco will now enjoy a valuable break to refresh and recalibrate following what’s been a hectic crusade so far, before returning to action on the 5th of January when they face off again with Paris Saint-Germain in the Trophee des Champions.
