AS Monaco wins in style against Belgrade and edge closer to the play-offs! | OneFootball

First held by the Serbians of Red Star, the Rouge et Blanc came to life in the second half to glean a second victory in three Champions League matches (5-1), which brings them closer to a place in the knockout rounds.

It’s another step towards the Champions League play-offs. Initially pushed back by a tenacious Red Star Belgrade team, the AS Monaco players finally secured a big victory against the Serbs (5-1). It was a crucial success, acquired under the eyes of President Dmitry Rybolovlev, present at the Stade Louis-II, which brings the Principality club closer to a place in the knockout rounds.

The context 📅

Still unbeaten this season (10 matches, 7 wins), the Rouge et Blanc approached this match with confidence. Building on their good start in the Champions League, where they had a prestigious win against Barcelone (2-1) and snatched a draw in Zagreb in difficult conditions (2-2), Denis Zakaria’s teammates wanted to get closer to a place in the knockout rounds, against a team they had twice beaten in the Europa League two years ago.

They have some very interesting players in their squad like Silas, who played for several seasons in Stuttgart, or Maksimovic, a young player from their academy. He is already playing at a very high level. They played a very good first half against Inter Milan and played well against Benfica. They deserved to win, so we will have to be careful because they are a good team and will want to win here to hope to qualify.

The XI 👥

To start this match, Adi Hütter decided to trust in his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, with the trio of Akliouche – Minamino – Ben Seghir behind Breel Embolo. Vanderson made his return on the flank, just as Radeck Majecki did in goal, while the partnership of Singo and Kehrer played centrally.

The scenario 🎞

The kick-off was given in a Champions League atmosphere at the Stade Louis-II, which quickly inspired the Rouge et Blanc. On a first cross from Vandi’, it was Eliesse Ben Seghir who controlled and shot without finding the target (4′). The Serbian response was immediate with a header from a corner, but Olayinka’s attempt was caught by Radoslaw Majecki (7′).

Inspiration from Singo, and a fine finish from Taki’!

There was no more success for Thilo Kehrer (10′), nor on a long-range strike by the Brazilian full-back (16′). The success was not coming, that was, until a brilliant pass from Wilfried Singo to find the run of Takumi Minamino, who won his one-on-one (1-0, 20′)! It was a clinical finish for the second goal by the Japanese this season after one against Saint-Etienne. The joy was unfortunately short-lived, when Cherif Ndiaye obtained and converted a penalty (1-1, 27′).

Magic Breel is sharp to regain the lead

The battles were tough between the two teams, and the last quarter of an hour was no exception. The opportunities were therefore rarer, but Breel Embolo, ever opportunistic, managed to win the ball in a duel and finished perfectly to give the advantage back to the Rouge et Blanc (2-1, 45+4′)! The Swiss striker scored his first goal in an official match this season and gave his teammates the lead before the break.

Wilfried SinGOAT’s rocket into the top corner!

The second half was just as crazy, even if Akliouche (50′) then Caio Henrique (52′) failed to trump Ilic’s vigilance. That’s without counting on Wilfried Singo’s flash of genius, who fired off a 35-meter shot that lodged in the opposite top corner (3-1 54′)! What a rocket from the Ivorian defender, who had already been decisive on the opening goal… And it wasn’t over, since Breel Embolo thought he had a double, which was finally disallowed for a handball (56′).

Another goal and the woodwork

The rest of the match was a real story of attack-defense in the Serbian hald, with a first post hit by the head of Maghnes Akliouche on a corner (66′), who nearly lobbed Ilic shortly thereafter (67′). The ultra-dominance of Monaco was then rewarded on a pass from Embolo that Takumi Minamino finished with aplomb (4-1)! The result was all but sealed, and the scored even nearly became more lopsided on a lovely curling effort from Aleksandr Golovin, which also hit the post (71′)!

Maghnes “Pepite” Akliouche finishes things off with a bang!

A flurry of chances followed for the Rouge et Blanc, from Zakaria (86′), Akliouche (87′) and Golo’ in particular (90′), who each came close to finding the Belgrade goal. On a final flash, the attacking midfielder trained at the Academy found the net with a spectacular effort (5-1, 96′)!

AS Monaco therefore won quite comfortably against Red Star (5-1), to get a little closer to a place in the next round of the Champions Leagues. DAGHE MUNEGU! 🇲🇨

Key moments 🎥

4′:  A cross from Vanderson for Ben Seghir who controls and shoots over 6′: Header from Olayinka on a corner is caught by Majecki 10′: Corner from Caio Henrique for Kehrer who misses the target 16′: A powerful shot from Vanderson from 20 meters which flies wide 20′: Singo plays in Minamino on the edge of offside, who finishes from close range (1-0) 27′: Ndiaye wins a penalty and converts it (1-1) 44′:  A powerful shot from Olayinka escapes Majecki’s goal 45+4′: A fine counter by Embolo who finishes his shot perfectly (2-1) 50′: A powerful shot from Akliouche grazes the crossbar 52′: A cross from Akliouche for Caio Henrique who is denied by Ilic 54′: Singo fires off a missile from 35 meters into the opposite top corner (3-1) 56′: Embolo’s goal is disallowed for handball 62′: Camara passes to Vanderson who shoots over 66′: Akliouche’s header from a corner is pushed back by the left post 67′: Golovin plays in Akliouche who tries a lob 70′: Embolo passes to Minamino who finishes well (4-1) 71′: Golovin’s curling shot hits the left post 86′: Zakaria’s shot is deflected for a corner 87′ Akliouche’s cross-shot skims the base of the upright 90′: Golovin’s curling shot flirts with the right-hand corner 96′: Akliouche finishes the scoring in style (5-1)

The stat 📊

AS Monaco had not scored five goals in a Champions League match since December 8, 2004 against Deportivo la Corogne (5-0).

📋 Match details:

Tuesday, October 22 (18:45) – Stade Louis-II

🇪🇺 Champions League – Matchday 3: AS Monaco 5-1 Red Star Belgrade

Halftime: 2-1

Goals: Minamino (20′, 70′), Embolo (45+4′), Singo (54′) and Akliouche (96′) for AS Monaco; Ndiaye (27′) for Belgrade