Forty-five minutes of pressure, one goal to show for it
Monaco beat Lens 2-1 on Friday night at Stade Louis II. The Friday opener to Matchday 5 in Ligue 1, and it puts the Principality side back at the summit heading into the weekend.
Filipe Luis sent his team out to press from the first whistle. Lens held a line far too high and got punished. Sima had already burned a good chance inside three minutes at the other end. After that, Monaco took over. Abline beat Todibo on the right and cut it back for Paris Brunner, who found the far corner past Risser on 34 minutes. Six minutes earlier, Brunner had seen another effort ruled out.
It could have been far uglier for the visitors. Abline had a goal disallowed for offside on nine minutes, then somehow missed an empty net on 42. A Sadibou Sane handball on 21 minutes might have been a penalty. Going in one down was a let-off.
Try it for $0.99.
Cahuzac found something at half-time
Whatever Yannick Cahuzac said in the dressing room worked. Cuisance and Haidara took hold of midfield. Thauvin curled a corner to the near post, Udol met it, 1-1 on 58 minutes.
Monaco then went missing. Not a single shot on target after the break. Hradecky had to be sharp to push away a curling Hazard effort on 74 minutes.
The bench decided it. Filipe Luis sent on Balogun to try to find a spark. A cross came in from the right, Brunner could not get his head on it, and Gradit turned it past his own keeper on 81 minutes. Lens chased the game to the whistle and got nowhere.
Four without a win, and Lyon next
Four wins from five for Monaco, top of Ligue 1, at least until Saturday and Sunday reshuffle things.
Lens are somewhere else entirely. No league win since the opening weekend. Dino Toppmoller sacked, Cahuzac handed the job at short notice, four matches now without a victory. That second half showed there is a team in there. The table says otherwise. Lyon visit after the international break, and that one is already circled.
Discover the rest of the football news on our mathodds website and app!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply