AS Monaco’s six-month unbeaten run came to an end at the hands of fierce local rivals OGC Nice in a heated Côte d’Azur derby (2-1) on Sunday.

The match hinged on one contentious decision. “11 versus 11, Monaco were clearly the best team on the pitch,” said Adi Hütter. But it didn’t stay that way.

Just seconds after Evann Guessand, against the run of play, hauled Nice back into the derby, Vanderson was sent off for a second yellow card. It began with a light push on Mohamed Al-Cho, continued with the latter reacting with a barge of his own, and ended in a mass brawl, involving most players and both benches.

Monaco’s CEO criticises refereeing decisions

Despite not being involved in the scrap, it cost Vanderson, who was shown a second yellow and a red. “He likes to give red cards to Monaco,” said CEO Thiago Scuro post-match, voicing his displeasure at Jérémie Pignard’s refereeing performance on the night.

It certainly felt like the turning point. For much of the first half, Monaco dominated. Marcin Bulka palmed a deflected Takumi Minamino cross onto the bar and Breel Embolo saw his tap-in disallowed by VAR for a tight offside as the Principality club knocked on the door.

Embolo did get his goal soon after, latching onto Maghnes Akliouche’s through ball and sliding his shot past Bulka. It was a just reward for the chances that had been created.

A first defeat in 6 months for Monaco

But, against the run of play, Nice hit back just before the break. Evann Guessand rose highest in the box to head Les Aiglons level. Just seconds after that Monaco went down to 10 men. “Their goal, our equaliser and the brawl (which led to the Vanderson red card), it boosted us,” said Franck Haise post-match.

It was clear that, upon the return from the dressing rooms, it would be a different game. Nice, with more space to exploit, were in the ascendancy but struggled to put away their chances.

Guessand, through one-on-one against Radoslaw Majecki, failed to add to his account, who denied the Ivory Coast international again later in the half from close range. But Les Monégasques, unbeaten in six months, still showed the ambition to take all three points.

Lamine Camara almost got the third goal of the game but his long-range effort hit the underside of the bar. It wasn’t a moment of brilliance that decided the game but a glaring error, characteristic of Monaco’s night, which was punctuated by such errors.

Brought on at half-time, Krépin Diatta played the ball back to Majecki, only his pass was dreadfully under-hit, allowing Gaëtan Laborde to steal in, and run almost the length of Monaco’s half before chipping the Polish shot-stopper.

“We had this game in our hands” – Hütter

Monaco struggled to drag themselves back into the game, despite a flurry of changes. Nice had something to protect and they protected it well to pull off the shock and secure the three points.

“The team showed it could act, could react, even with absentees,” said Haise, whose Nice side approached the Côte d’Azur derby as the underdog.

Monaco, however, suffer their first defeat of the season, and given the identity of the team that have inflicted that first defeat, it will hurt. “When you lose a derby, everyone feels disappointed. We had this game in our hands […] we did some stupid things and they completely changed the game but we win together and we lose together,” reacted Hütter.

The defeat allows Paris Saint-Germain to take a slender lead in Ligue 1. PSG are now outright leaders. Monaco remain second, three points ahead of Marseille, who were swept aside later on Sunday in Le Classique.

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Photo source: AS Monaco