AS Monaco’s academy side confirmed their place in the next round of the UEFA Youth League thanks to an emphatic 5-0 win over Galatasaray on Tuesday afternoon.

It was a game of two halves at the end of a League Phase of two halves. Defeats against Club Brugge, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur put Monaco’s academy on the back foot. Their chances of qualification Round of 16 looked slim, but wins against Bodo/Glimt, Pafos, and Galatasaray have ensured their progression.

Depending on results elsewhere, a point may have been enough for Djimi Troaré’s men, but a win would have brought certainty. In that context, Troaré said he felt “nervousness” from some of his players in the first half. “It is a young team in a game that we had to win,” added the manager of the Monaco academy, who was not bowled over by the performance of his young side. “Honestly, there is still a lot of work to do,” he said.

But there is a base to work from and crucially, heading into the knockout phase, momentum, following three wins on the bounce. A timid first half gave way to a more dynamic and exciting second. Oumar Konaté had been the most enterprising of the Monégasques in the opening 45 minutes, and he earned the penalty in the 53rd minute, which was not converted by Joan Tincres.

But when Konaté was brought down again less than 10 minutes later, it was Pape Cabral, who has earned minutes for the senior side this season, who stepped up and didn’t repeat his teammate’s mistake. Confidence oozed, and the goals began to flow. Yannick Dodo benefited from the Galatasaray goalkeeper’s spill from a corner to poke home from close range, and then just four minutes later, Monaco had a third through Konaté, the benefactor of some more poor goalkeeping, after Aladji Bamba’s shot was palmed straight into his path.

Nibombe makes Monaco return following heart attack

Konaté then turned provider for Tincres, who did get on the scoresheet following his earlier penalty miss, heading home from close range. Dodo rounded out the scoring with another simple tap-in, with Galatasaray in complete disarray. Samuel Nibombe then came on in the closing stages, making his first Youth League appearance since suffering a heart attack in the Challenge Éspoirs final back in May.

“[His return] was something that we were preparing for since we found out that he could play football again, because there was uncertainty about that. It is nice to see Sam back on the pitch,” said Traoré.

Nibombe is a player who has trained with the first team, has experience around the senior side, and there are great expectations for him. The same goes for Cabral and Bamba, both of whom were drafted into the first team due to the abating injury crisis. Their returns have made a big difference for Traoré’s side in the past two games, and they will certainly be key if Monaco are to continue progress in this season’s Youth League.

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Photo source: AS Monaco