Ansu Fati, on his Ligue 1 debut, was the hero for AS Monaco as they swept FC Metz aside with a flurry of late goals at the Stade Louis II on Sunday (5-2).
Monaco haven’t had the easiest week. On Wednesday, a technical issue on their plane left players and staff in a sauna, forcing them to cancel their travel plans and then travel on the day of their match against Club Brugge in their Champions League opener. Once in Belgium, it didn’t get any better as they were demolished by an impressive Club Brugge side 4-1.
With Denis Zakaria and Aleksandr Golovin also sustaining injuries that will leave them out for several weeks, it was a nightmare week that they were hoping to end on a positive note.
“12 points out of 15, it’s not bad” – Hutter
After each match this season, Adi Hütter expressed “dissatisfaction” with his side’s performance, regardless of the result. It was no different this time out. “Everyone saw that this wasn’t the best performance […] We can not be happy when we talk about the entire game. It is not good enough,” admitted Hütter post-match.
But, as it was against Le Havre, Strasbourg, Auxerre, and now Metz, the essential was ensured. “But 12 points out of 15, it is not bad,” the Monaco manager reminded us.
It could have been a lot different. Habib Diallo stunned Monaco within the first 15 minutes, latching onto a Cheikh Sabaly through ball and tucking past Philipp Kohn. Koffi-Franck Kouao then almost doubled the lead moments later, and would have done if not for a brilliant finger-tip save from the Swiss shotstopper.
Somewhat against the run of play, Monaco then equalised, finishing their first clear-cut chance of the night. It was a simple goal: Thilo Kehrer put the ball over the top, Takumi Minamino latched onto it, and then found Mika Biereth with a simple ball across the box to tuck home. “Finally,” reacted the Danish forward post-match, having got his first of the season.
Fati the tie-breaker
But Monaco looked devoid of inspiration for much of the rest of the half. That changed after the break. It was the introduction of Fati that altered the course of this encounter. He made his debut for Monaco in the heavy defeat to Club Brugge on Thursday and netted a late consolation for Les Monégasques. His impact on this encounter was more meaningful.
The Barcelona loanee needed just 37 seconds to score on his Ligue 1 debut, sliding home a Lamine Camara ball into the box. But, as has become characteristic of the Principality club in recent matches, once in the lead, they ceded control of the game. But in truth, Metz were gifted a route back into this one.
Minamino inexplicably pulled back Kouao off the ball in the box. Referee Stéphanie Frappart pointed to the spot and Gauthier Hein did the rest, levelling the game at 2-2. Once again, it was left to Fati to break the tie.
The Spaniard was once again well placed inside the box and leapt highest to head home a pinpoint Krépin Diatta cross. Ahead of the expected storms on Sunday night, which had already led to the postponement of Le Classique between Olympique de Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain down the coast, there was a late deluge of goals.
Ilenikhena on the scoresheet again for Monaco
The first came in fortuitous circumstances as Camara’s near-post corner was deflected and looped into his own net by Kouao. And then in injury time, George Ilenikhena lived up to his super-sub reputation, getting on the scoresheet and netting Monaco’s fifth on the night. It added a certain gloss to what was a “hard-fought win”, in Hutter’s words.
“For me, after the defeat in Club Brugge, which for me was an accident, there is a shock. You could see that we weren’t very confident, but we bounced back and we won an important game,” reacted the Monaco manager. Ultimately, it was an emphatic win, and one, Monaco hope, that will kickstart their season once and for all.
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Photo source: AS Monaco