26 ° C
Profile

Tag: asmonaco

Last minute goal prevents shut-out

by: Stephanie Horsman
07/12/2020

AS Monaco suffered a narrow loss to Lille OSC but prevented a shut-out with a last-minute goal made by 19-year old striker Pietro Pellegri in his first goal of the season. 
After four in a row, AS Monaco endured a disappointing 1-2 loss to Lille OSC on Sunday’s 13th Ligue 1 matchday.
Though the first half produced no goals, it was a tactical battle between two evenly-matched teams who saw plenty of exciting back and forth, including several spectacular saves by Monaco’s goalie Vito Mannone, notably one in the 42nd minute where in a full body leap, he blocked a shot by Lille’s Jonathan Bamba.
The second half saw all the action. At 53 minutes in, Lille’s Jonathan David opened up the scoring giving the opponent the lead. Then about 12 minutes later, Yusuf Yazici made another goal after a cutback from teammate Burak Yilmaz.
Things weren’t looking great for the Red and Whites, but they persevered. Finally, just as the game was at its end the young Italian player, Pietro Pellegri, scored his first goal of the season as well as the only goal for his side that game, leaving the final score Monaco 1, Lille, 2.
“We obviously know that Lille are a very good team, which played in the Champions League last year and which have qualified for the Europa League this season,” said Coach Niko Kovac after the match. “I think they also have a lot of respect for us, off the back of what we’ve shown in the last four games where we’ve had four wins. We were very close. In the end there is only one goal on the scoreboard that separated us and in my head a draw would have been fairer, because there was nothing very spectacular, from one side or the other. Obviously when you lose a game like this you can only be disappointed.”
 
Photo source: AS Monaco 
 
 

Four in a row

by: Stephanie Horsman
30/11/2020

Fresh off their exciting win against number one seeded Paris, Sunday’s 3-0 victory against Nîmes Olympique gives AS Monaco their longest winning streak since the 2016-17 season and puts them firmly in the Top 5 of Ligue 1.
The Red and Whites celebrated their fourth win in a row on Sunday at a home game against Nîmes Olympique where they dominated play and set themselves up as real contenders for this season.
With three goals, one in the first half and two in the second, it seemed nothing could slow them down.
Even the normally reticent Coach Niko Kovac was mostly positive saying, “I am very happy with this 3-0 victory, which in my eyes is totally deserved, because we had a lot of chances in both halves. I was very satisfied after the first half. The start of the second half was a bit tough, but after the red card, we played a lot better. In the future, I would like us to control the match for 90 minutes.”
He went on to note how hard the team has worked to gel, declaring, “It’s true that we have found a real balance in our play. We have been working here for four and a half months, the players adhere to the strategy and integrate the principles as is requested of them. We are also happy with a clean sheet, it’s something important for the defence, the goalkeeper and the team as a whole. I really appreciated the fact that we are getting so many chances. We are really on the right track.”
Sofiane Diop made the opening goal in a nice volley about 19 minutes in that landed the ball at the edge of the nets. In fact, Monaco dominated the ball most of the first half, and though they only converted the once, they were playing well as a team.
After halftime, they came out a bit slower but still strong, and when a red card on Nîmes’s Lucas Deaux for tackling Diop from behind occurred, the Red and Whites also had a one man advantage which they took absolute advantage of.
In a one-two, Gelson Martins made a gorgeous header in the 75th minute followed by Kevin Volland putting it between the posts in the 77th. This sealed the deal and the final score of 3-0 was set in stone.
After the match, team captain Axel Disani said, “We started the match very well, with the goal coming quite early. The coach had told us we had to attack them from the start in the final third of the pitch, and that’s what we did. In the second half, I think we came back less well, Nîmes were pressing more. But when we got down to 11 against 10, we were able to break forward and score the two goals that gave us the victory.”
The Red and Whites next play in an away game in Lille on Sunday, 6th December.
 
Photo source: AS Monaco
 
 

AS Monaco fall to Lyon

by: Stephanie Horsman
26/10/2020

Despite a strong start, AS Monaco wasn’t able to keep the momentum up on Sunday in a tough match against 6th ranked Olympique Lyonnaise, resulting in a 1-4 loss.
Playing on the opponent’s home turf, AS Monaco started the game against Lyon with gusto. They made several shots on goal in the first 15 minutes, but the Lyonnaise goalie, Anthony Lopes, was having a stellar game and his reflexes were sharp as tacks, thus stopping any points from being scored.
Lyon opened the scoring 12 minutes in with a shot by Memphis Depay, marking the first of four goals made in the first half. Lyon’s Karl Toko Ekambi racked up two goals within 10 minutes of each other in the 34th minute and the 44th and Houssem Aouar scored in the 41st. The score sat at 0-4 and things were looking a bit bleak for Monaco as they went into the locker room at halftime.
“They were very dangerous, especially in the first half,” said Monaco Coach Niko Kovac. “We did everything wrong in those first 45 minutes, where we made a lot of bad decisions, starting with me. I am the coach, I chose the team and the tactical system, so I take my share of responsibility for this loss. We weren’t active enough. We were too reactive. We didn’t close down the spaces when needed.”
The second half was a bit better for the Red and Whites, and they were playing well as a team. Wissam Ben Yedder made a fantastic play resulting in a goal in the 48thminute, saving his team from a complete blow-out and breathing some life back into the squad, but sadly not enough for a comeback. The score sat at 1-4 With Lyon taking the day.
“The team as a whole was too passive. I think we need to analyse what happened in that first half,” Coach Kovac reflected.
Monaco drops to 12th in Ligue 1 but have a chance to redeem themselves on Sunday 1st November when they will host Girondins de Bordeaux at Stade Louis II.
 
Photo courtesy AS Monaco
 
 

Oleg Petrov elected to LFP Board

by: Stephanie Horsman
16/09/2020

AS Monaco’s Vice-President and CEO has been elected as the newest Board of Directors Member for the League of Football Professionals.
The General Assembly of the League of Football Professionals (LFP) recently selected the latest Board of Directors, and AS Monaco’s own Oleg Petrov was amongst them. Mr Petrov was named Vice-President and CEO of the club in February 2019.
“I am very happy to be part of the Board of Directors of the LFP, as a part of the representatives of Ligue 1 clubs,” said Mr Petrov. “I thank the club presidents for their confidence in me. This is of course an important moment for AS Monaco. I will do everything possible to help our league meet the challenges that arise, to work in the collective interest, and to continue the remarkable development the league has made in recent years and to contribute to the influence of Ligue 1 internationally.”
He will join the ranks with counterparts from other major clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain’s Nasser El Khelaïfi, Jean-Pierre Caillot of Stade de Reims, Jacques-Henri Eyraud from Olympique de Marseille, Loïc Féry of FC Lorient, FC Nantes’ Waldemar Kita, Laurent Nicollin from Montpellier HSC and Jean-Pierre Rivère of OGC Nice.
 
 
 

AS Monaco reveals heritage jersey

by: Stephanie Horsman
05/08/2020

AS Monaco has unveiled a third jersey for this season with a design that shows off some of Monaco’s most iconic monuments.

AS Monaco pays tribute to some of the most enduring images of the Principality in their latest jersey for the 2020-21 season. A white shirt with red lettering on the top lead downward to what looks like an elegant picture postcard of Monaco imbued on the bottom two-thirds. 

The Place du Casino, Sainte Dévote Church, the statue of François Grimaldi, Stade Louis II, the Place du Palais Princier and the Notre Dame Immaculée Cathedral are all shown as a collage in a subtle illustration adorning the jersey.

Designed by Kappa, the jerseys are being marketed on the Red and Whites website with the caption, “Play the Monaco Cards”. The jersey is coupled with matching shorts and socks to complete the look. 

The team has updated its uniforms this year and has already revealed a new jersey with a diagonal stripe originally championed by Princess Grace, as well as new away kit in navy and yellow also featuring the diagonal stripe.