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Inspired Volland performance secures victory for ASM

by: Luke Entwistle
25/10/2021

AS Monaco produced a dominant first-half display to ensure a comfortable victory against a lacklustre Montpellier side at the Stade Louis II on Sunday.
Coming into the match high on confidence after a battling victory away at PSV in midweek, ASM got off to a blistering start.
Having dominated possession and territory during the opening minutes, ASM didn’t take long to convert their dominance into tangible rewards.
Building on his man-of-the-match performance in mid-week, Caoi Henrique was once again the provider – his ball across goal finished neatly by Kevin Volland.
Montpellier couldn’t muster any response to going behind. ASM continued to dominate possession, and their persistent pressing kept Montpellier deep in their own half. Only five minutes after the opener, ASM doubled their lead. This time the scorer of the opening goal, Volland, turned provider – his sumptuous out-side of the boot delivery converted by Ben Yedder at the back post.
Kovac’s men continued to dominate proceedings in the first-half, but lacked the incision to increase their lead against a passive Montpellier side.
Montpellier came out the brighter side at the start of the second half. They were more capable of retaining possession and advancing the ball, yet their defensive frailties were once again exposed with devastating consequences.
After a penalty-box scramble, which resembled a pinball machine more than a match of football, Gelson Martins seized upon the ball and drilled home Monaco’s third.
Having confirmed the victory, ASM let the game drift, and Montpellier slowly grew into the game. Despite failing to create anything clear-cut, Montpellier were handed a glorious opportunity to get back into the match when Pavlovic clumsily brought down Gioacchini inside the ASM box.
Savanier confidently dispatched the resulting penalty to register what was ultimately only a consolation goal for the away side.
The 3-1 victory lifts Kovac’s side to 8th place in Ligue 1, and only 1 point behind the European places.
In the post-match conference, Kovac praised his side’s reaction to last Sunday’s disappointment. “We are happy to have bounced back after Lyon, by having two good matches against PSV Eindhoven in the club’s 200th European fixture, and against Montpellier.”
Despite his positive appraisal, Kovac was nonetheless critical of ASM’s inability to kill off the game. “For me, we should have finished the contest in the first half by scoring the third, even the fourth goal… After the third goal, we changed the way that we played a bit, and when you play a bit lower, with less intensity, the opponent has more of a chance to grow, and you find yourself in trouble.”
ASM will be hoping to continue their charge towards the European places with a win in their next fixture at Brest next Sunday.
 
 
 

AS Monaco “on the right track”

by: Luke Entwistle
20/09/2021

AS Monaco ground out a well-earned draw in a closely-contested, eerily-quiet local derby against OGC Nice. The match, played behind closed-doors at the Allianz Riviera, lacked the atmosphere that usually accompanies such an occasion, but TV viewers were treated to four goals, which ultimately led to the Riviera rivals sharing the points.
Monaco came into the fixture high on confidence following a successful start to their Europa League campaign, having beaten Sturm Graz on Thursday evening. They came up against an in-form Nice side who are so far unbeaten in Ligue 1 this season, and are yet to even concede.
That quickly changed, as in the 39th minute, Aleksandr Golovin tapped in a perfectly-weighted pass across goal from Gelson Martins, becoming the first player to beat Walter Benitez this season.
Nice came out rejuvenated in the second half and quickly equalised through an unmarked Andy Delort, who headed in at the back post. Nice completed the turnaround in the 73rd minute when Hicham Boudaoui neatly slotted in a cut-back from Delort to make it 2-1.
Nice immediately surrendered their advantage as Caoi Henrique was felled by Nice winger Calvin Stengs within the penalty area. Wissam Ben Yedder blasted home the subsequent penalty to restore parity.
Any hopes of a Monaco victory, or even draw, were seemingly dashed moments later as Nice were awarded a controversial, and arguably generous penalty, when Benoît Badiashile was adjudged to have handled within his own penalty area. Despite the ball having undoubtedly struck the Monaco defender’s arm, there was seemingly little that he could have done to evade the ball which was struck hard, and from close-range, from Delort. Monaco will feel that justice was served moments later as Gouiri blasted wide from the spot, and proceeded to rip his shirt open in frustration at the missed opportunity.
The score therefore remained at 2-2, and that is how the 101st installment of the Cote d’Azur derby ended. Nice will ultimately feel disappointed, having been gifted the opportunity to move up to second place in the Ligue 1 table.
Monaco will be buoyed by a positive performance against a strong Nice side and, in addition to a positive result in midweek, it paints a picture of a team moving in the right direction. Speaking post-match, Monaco manager Nico Kovac was pleased with his side’s performance, saying, “We are progressing little by little. Things were progressing against Sturm Graz, today we had some good moments and some not so good moments. I think we are on the right track.”
AS Monaco come up against Saint-Etienne at the Stade Louis II stadium on Wednesday evening, and Kovac will hope that his side can build on their recent uptick in form.
 
Photo source: AS Monaco 
 
 
 

Monaco to enter into NFT market

by: Cassandra Tanti
25/08/2021

AS Monaco has unveiled a two-season partnership with fantasy football platform Sorare, which will allow the club to enter the world of NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens) for the first time.
With partnerships already with Bayern Munich, Juventus, and Liverpool, Sorare has cards from more than 155 football clubs and over 450,000 registered users on the platform, of which 100,000 are active every month.
The deal with Monaco will allow fans, collectors and fantasy football players to trade and play freely with digital cards of Monaco players. Each of these cards will be verified by blockchain technology, allowing it to be certified and therefore non-fungible.
“It is an original and innovative way of connecting AS Monaco fans with the club and the players on an increasingly renowned platform, which fits perfectly with our digital development,” said Oleg Petrov, Vice-President and CEO of AS Monaco. “This arrival in the NFT world will also give the club exposure to a fast-growing market and an opening to a new audience. We are looking forward to the start of this collaboration.”
Sorare was founded in 2018, focussing on blockchain digital collectibles and its global fantasy football. The platform has had a card sales volume of over $80 million since January 2021 across 150 countries.
“NFTs are the future of global sports fandom because they allow fans to come together and to feel ownership of the sports they love,” said Nicolas Julia, CEO and co-founder of Sorare. “This partnership isn’t just a sign of Sorare’s growing leadership in the NFT sports space, it is a major signal of intent by the sporting world that it sees Sorare’s unique ability to connect fans with sports through NFTs a crucial part of their plans for the future. AS Monaco is one of the best club in the world, home to some of the most exciting clubs and footballers on earth. We are looking forward to working together in the years ahead.”
 
 
Image courtesy AS Monaco
 
 

Monaco’s undefeated streak continues

by: Stephanie Horsman
22/02/2021

AS Monaco soundly beat last year’s reigning champs and one of their biggest rivals, Paris Saint-Germain, two to nil in an away game at Parc des Princes on Sunday. 
The Red and Whites faced off against powerhouse team Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday in a much-anticipated game that has solidified Monaco’s status as one of this season’s teams to beat.
Coach Niko Kovac put all the biggest guns on the field, with a line-up that included Wissam Ben Yedder, Kevin Volland, Sofiane Diop, Axel Disani and Ruben Aguilar.
The match couldn’t have started off much better for Monaco with Diop scoring the opening goal at only six minutes in. He planted a magnificent header right between the posts, scoring his sixth goal this year and surprising PSG, who had not conceded a goal this early in the game once this season.
This was the only goal scored in the entire first half, with only a few close calls for both sides. One was a free header made by Disani, handily blocked by Paris goalkeeper Keylor Navas, and another by PSG striker Idrissa Gueye, which was a close-but-no-cigar shot handled brilliantly by Benjamin Lecomte.
After halftime, both sides kept things under control for the first few minutes, but at the 53 minute mark, Guillermo Maripán picked up a loose ball and knocked it into the bottom corner of the net, putting Monaco in a comfortable two to nothing lead.
Paris has not seen a two point deficit since 15th February 2020, so needless to say they were a bit rattled. Couple this was a strong showing by the Red and White’s defence and it was Monaco’s match for the taking.
The win leaves Monaco in the enviable position of remaining undefeated in 2021. Though they are still in fourth place in the standings, they are solidly there, being 12 points ahead of the fifth place team, Lens. This match also dropped PSG to third, putting them only two points and spitting distance ahead of ASM, with league-topping Lille only four points ahead.
“It’s very tight and interesting for everyone,” said Coach Kovac. “I hope it will continue like this until the end of the season, it’s exciting. It is in the interest of Ligue 1, because there is not only one team that is dominating the league.”
 
Monaco Life with AS Monaco press release, photo by AS Monaco
 
 

Christmas comes early for Red and Whites

by: Stephanie Horsman
21/12/2020

A much-needed win has put AS Monaco and their fans in jolly spirits as the team took a 1 to 0 victory against Dijon on the weekend.
It was a razor-thin win, but a win nonetheless for the Red and Whites of Monaco on Sunday, who got a three-point boost in the Ligue 1 standings, putting them in seventh place and breaking a three-game losing streak.
The only goal of the game came early on as Kevin Volland at the 15-minute mark took the ball straight up the middle, passing to Wissam Ben Yedder, who shot it quickly back to Volland. Volland took advantage, knocking it between the poles, beating out Dijon goalie Anthony Racioppi.
It made the sixth goal for Volland so far this season, and the third with an assist from his team’s captain.
“The important thing was to win,” said Coach Niko Kovac with a rare smile. “I would say that this assist is like half a goal for Wissam. He fulfilled his role of leader, and his performance was very positive. He pulled the team over the top today.”
Kevin Volland saw it much the same way, citing team effort as the tool for success.
“It’s a one touch style which reflects the quality we have on this team and I think it’s an important goal for us today. It symbolizes the relationships that are created between us,” the German striker said modestly.
The win makes for a tight race in the all-important top third of the standings, where Monaco is only one point behind Montpellier and two behind Rennes.
“Before this match we had four wins in a row followed by three defeats,” said Kovac . “The most important thing was to win. I told my players before the match that Dijon was under pressure, and that we had to get a result. It may not have been our best game of the season, but we went for a positive result. We have shown character. I congratulate them for their state of mind. We’ll take the three points.”
The Red and Whites still have one more match before Christmas, where they play St-Étienne at home in Stade Louis II on Wednesday 23rd December at 8pm.
 
 

Red and White’s heartbreaking loss to Marseille

by: Stephanie Horsman
14/12/2020

AS Monaco lost by one goal to Olympique de Marseille on Saturday, however they were saved from a total shutout by a late Wissam Ben Yedder goal.
The Red and Whites played away in Marseille on Saturday night but found no joy as they suffered a 2-1 loss in the 14th matchday of Ligue 1 play.
The game was not going well for Monaco from the start. In fact, the opponents were two goals by halftime. The first goal came just five minutes in when Florian Thauvin scored with a header after a lovely pass from Dario Benedetto. Only a few minutes later, in the 13th, the reverse occurred and Thauvin set Benedetto up to put another between the posts.
Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda was having a good night, and no matter what Monaco tried, he was johnny-on-the-spot, making two excellent saves.
The second half saw the Red and Whites come out swinging. They had possession of the ball, but were unable to convert until 79 minutes in, when Wissam Ben Yedder made a penalty kick to bring them within one goal of a draw. Sadly, this never materialised, and Monaco ended the game 1-2.
Coach Niko Kovac was disappointed, but still proud of his team for a game well-played, saying: “I think we started this match really well. We had a great good opportunity from the start through Wissam. If we had scored, I think the game would have turned to our advantage. Then we conceded two goals from two shots in the first quarter of an hour, so that necessarily changed the face of the game. Until half-time the game was balanced. Then we really dominated the match in the second half, but Marseille defended very deep, playing really close to their area. We tried to come back into it in the dying minutes of the game, but it was not enough. The first 15 minutes cost us too much.”
Monaco’s next challenge will be against Racing Club de Lens on Wednesday 16th December at 9pm at home at Stade Louis II.
 
Photo source: AS Monaco