Double honors for Fofana, MVP against Lille and in L’Équipe's Team of the Round | OneFootball

A providential goal helped to lead the Rouge et Blanc to victory against LOSC (1-0), as the French international was logically named man of the match by the fans, and even appeared in l'Equipes' team of round for Matchday 29 in Ligue 1.

He was everywhere on the pitch! This Wednesday evening, Youssouf Fofana had made a point of having a great match against Lille. More than that, he was the detonator, the launching pad, and at the same time the barrier to the northern side’s attempts to play on the counter. Scorer of the only goal of the match, which gave AS Monaco a crucial victory with a view to qualifying for the Champions League (1-0), our number 19 shone in midfield.

I was impressed by this LOSC team which showed very good things against Aston Villa in Europe. They have a great coach, very experienced, in Paulo Fonseca, whom I have already had the opportunity to face in the past. I think they can say the same for us, so it will be a very interesting matchup.

A high-level defensive performance 🚧

Because before releasing his partners (and the public at Stade Louis-II in the process), the French midfielder would make it possible to manage a challenging first half. Alert to counterattacks by a dangerous LOSC in these phases of play, as warned by Adi Hütter before the match, Youssouf would take on the defensive tasks. Alongside Denis Zakaria — who was just as solid, he would put together an impressive statistical line: two tackles, three interceptions, ten duels contested and eight balls recovered!

Before a vital goal! 🎯

But he would not limit himself to defending, since upon returning from the locker room, as the Rouge et Blanc regained control of the match, he would also take the initiative… and score! Already comfortable in the air in the first half (27′), he created a chance for Takumi Minamino on the volley (50′). This was just before showing himself to be decisive in the play of the match, where he took care of everything: winning the ball, getting forward, and finishing with a low strike from the left into the bottom corner (1-0, 62′)!

Covering a monumental amount of ground 🦑

It was a true masterpiece of English-style box-to-box football, for the French international’s third goal this season in Ligue 1, and one that was quite important. Because Les Dogues would never come back into the match, stifled by a Monegasque side playing for the collective on all fronts, as evidenced by the 11 kilometers covered by Youss’ during the match. It was a  high-level performance, which would leave them six points ahead of their opponent on the night and well-placed for a European finish.

A double-double: MVP + team of the round! 🏆

Credited with a rating of 8 in the national sports daily, he therefore logically appeared this Thursday morning in L’Équipe’s team of the Round for Matchday 29. This was in addition to being rewarded by the supporters of the Club, who named him MVP of the match with 66% of the votes on the AS Monaco App. With an average of 5.66, Youssouf Fofana has moved up to 24th place in the newspaper’s ranking of outfield players. Daghe Youss’! 🇲🇨

🏆 MVP 2023-2024 Recap

Second half:

👥 Players in L’Équipe’s Team of the round, 2023-2024