A spirited AS Monaco earned their first victory of 2025, securing their progression in the Champions League in the process by beating Aston Villa (1-0) on Tuesday night.

Monaco headed into this game low on confidence having succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of bottom-placed Montpellier in Ligue 1 on Friday. Winless in 2025 and seeking their first win since 7th December 2024, Monaco headed into a tie against Aston Villa, who secured a draw against Premier League title challengers Arsenal over the weekend, as the undisputed underdog.

But you wouldn’t have been able to tell as Monaco took the first clear chance of the night in front of a packed Stade Louis II. Thilo Kehrer forced Emiliano Martinez, roundly booed by the Monaco faithful thanks to his antics in the World Cup final against France in 2022, into a parried save but Wilfried Singo, on his return from injury, followed it in and headed into the open net.

“They scored from a set-piece and then defended well afterwards,” said Aston Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara post-match. The Premier League side’s chances were limited throughout. Radoslaw Majecki was forced into a strong save from Ollie Watkins before the break but other than that, the Polish goalkeeper went largely untested.

Aston Villa fan Prince William in attendance at the Stade Louis II

It was Monaco, in front not only of Prince Albert II but also Prince William, an Aston Villa fan, who looked more likely to score in this contest, a form of ‘Princely derby’ in the Principality. Maghnes Akliouche went close in the first half and should have done better with his wild effort on goal just before the break.

The France youth international, in front of France assistant coach Guy Stéphan, thought he had given Les Monégasques breathing space when he poked home a ball from Vanderson just after half-time, but he was adjudged to have been marginally offside.

Whilst it was Villa who chased the equaliser, it was a defiant Monaco who looked the more dangerous: Takumi Minamino spurned a big chance, Aleksandr Golovin was denied by a last-ditch Tyrone Mings tackle and a Breel Embolo bicycle kick fell into the grateful gloves of pantomime-villain Martinez.

However, it was Monaco, in perhaps their best defensive performance of the season, who secured the win, without ever coming under significant pressure. It is a significant win in Monaco’s season. Their place in the next round of the Champions League is now mathematically secured with one game to go, but perhaps even more importantly, there is a feeling that their season more generally is back on track.

Surpassing objectives on Monaco’s agenda

“It was an important win,” began Adi Hütter post-match. “I give my compliments and praise to my team for how they fought: their energy, their attitude, and also their determination to qualify, which was one of our big goals for the season.”

However, the job is not yet done. Heading to Milan to face Internazionale next week, there is still an outside chance of a top-eight finish, which would see Les Monégasques skip the play-off round.

Man-of-the-match Singo was unequivocal in asserting Monaco’s desire to obtain a positive result in Italy. “We have one match remaining which will be very difficult. We are going to go to Milan next week with a lot of ambition and to win,” said the Ivorian international.

A trip to Italy to conclude the Champions League ‘league phase’

Hütter added, “At the San Siro, against Inter, they will be a big opponent. They are in fantastic shape. We’ll go there with our best performance to see if we can win.”

As the Monaco manager points out, the objective set before the campaign of finishing inside the top 24 in the Champions League has now been “achieved” but although a place in the top eight remains out of their hands, the dream of achieving it remains alive as they head to the San Siro next Wednesday to conclude their ‘league phase’ campaign.

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Photo source: AS Monaco