PLAYER RATINGS | Strasbourg 1-3 Monaco: Eliesse Ben Seghir-inspired Monaco return to winning ways with late comeback | OneFootball

Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Round 11, 09/11/24

Trailing for much of the match, an Eliesse Ben Seghir-inspired AS Monaco returned to winning ways against RC Strasbourg Alsace (1-3), ending a two-game losing streak in Ligue 1 and closing the gap to Paris Saint-Germain.

The Match

“Efficiency in both boxes” has become something of a buzz phrase in football. Monaco lacked it in the first half and they paid dearly. Breel Embolo, fed through by Takumi Minamino, had all the time and space to beat Djordje Petrovic one-on-one, however, he struck too closely to the Chelsea loanee, who made the save.

Strasbourg made the most of their reprieve. Just moments after a big contact between Guéla Doué and Radoslaw Majecki, the former picked himself up to beat the latter at the near-post. Proting from a Lamine Camara error, Les Monégasques were given a let-off themselves as Dilane Bakwa, one-on-one, lacked composure and slid his shot wide of the post.

Lamine Camara went close with a free-kick on the hour mark, but until the dying stages, Les Monégasques failed to trouble Petrovic but as the full-time whistle neared, the Principality club upped the tempo. Eliesse Ben Seghir, so timid in the first half, was the heartbeat of his Monaco side in the final third and it was his shot, saved by Diego Moreria’s hand on the line, that allowed Adi Hütter’s side to get back into this tie.

The penalty given, Ben Seghir stepped up himself, beating Petrovic. It was Ben Seghir who then got the winner, collecting Maghnes Akliouche’s pass and keeping his composure in the box. Demoralised, Les Alsaciens then threw the game away. Saïdou Sow’s missed touch straight from kick-off allowed George Ilenikhena to race through and beat Petorvic. That is his first in Ligue 1 since joining over the summer.

Strasbourg player ratings

Djordje Petrovic – 6

Abakar Sylla – 3

Saïdou Sow – 3

Guéla Doué – 6

Diego Moreira – 6

Impressive in both phases, he now looks like a natural in his left-wing-back berth, however, he blotted his copybook with his instinctive but costly handball in the second half, which allowed Les Monégasques to equalise. Even after that, he showed a desire to amend for his error and his inverted runs continued to cause issues late on.

Andrey Santos – 6

Tidy in possession, as he always is, he won 13 out of his 16 duels allowing Strasbourg, for a time, to win the midfield battle.

Ismaël Doukouré – 5

Dilane Bakwa – 4

Sékou Mara – 4

Sébastien Nanasi – 4

Habib Diarra – 4

Monaco player ratings

Radoslaw Majecki – 5

At fault for Strasbourg’s opener, it was his quick release that allowed Monaco to get their second and take a late lead at the Meinau.

Caio Henrique – 4

The Brazilian was replaced by Christian Mawissa (5) at half-time.

Thilo Kehrer – 5

Wilfried Singo – 5

Vanderson – 5

Lamine Camara – 6

Soungoutou Magassa – 7

In the absence of Denis Zakaria, Magassa once again stepped up, putting in a commanding display, often coming deep to allow Monaco to build efficiently from the back throughout.

Eliesse Ben Seghir – 7

Uncharacteristically wasteful in possession, he lost the ball more than any other player on the pitch prior to the late comeback and failed to influence proceedings, sometimes failing to find simple passes in dangerous situations. But within that context, he showed great character to not only step up to take the penalty but also to put it away so well. His redemption ark was completed when he netted the late winner.

Takumi Minamino – 6

Maghnes Akliouche – 5

Breel Embolo – 3

The Swiss international’s contribution in buil-uo is rarely in question but his finishing this season has been hit and miss – maybe more miss. That was certainly the case at the Meinau, where he missed a glorious chance early on, which could have changed the course of the match. Having miscued another good chance later in the half, he was replaced at the break by George Ilenikhena (6), who netted Monacos third.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle