The 22-year-old Diatta scored the decisive goal in the game in the 66th minute. The victory of the hosts was ultimately deserved due to the more than 70 percent possession of the game. Sturm, who had gone down 5-0 in the principality’s last appearance in 2000, had only one dangerous shot on goal by Ivan Ljubic in 90 minutes just before the break. When the 25-year-old Viennese tried, however, only the crossbar prevented a hit (43rd).
With the narrow victory, AS Monaco also took the lead in Group B. Behind them were PSV Eindhoven and Real Sociedad, who shared the points 2: 2 (1: 2) in a varied game. The traditional Dutch club Eindhoven is also Sturm’s next opponent. The team of the former Salzburg master maker Roger Schmidt will be guests on September 30th (6.45pm) in the Merkur Arena in Graz.
Storm changed slightly
In order to “take something away” from Monaco, as had been hoped by sports director Andreas Schicker in advance, coach Ilzer had changed his line-up slightly compared to the lucky 2-1 win against Austria Klagenfurt. The fit again Otar Kiteishvili and Jon Stankovic were in the starting line-up and, with Stefan Hierländer and Ljubic, formed the diamond preferred by the coach in midfield. This time Manprit Sarkaria and Andreas Kuen sat on the bench for the time being.
The current sporting crisis at AS Monaco, which was sent to the field by coach Niko Kovac in a 4-4-2 system, was reflected in the crowd of paying spectators, as the Monegas feared. Many of the 18,500 places remained free in the Stade Louis II. Even in advance sales, only around 2,500 tickets were brought to the fan. Around 600 of the tickets were even given to supporters of Sturm, who also made themselves heard loudly and almost created a home-game atmosphere in Graz.
Siebenhandl-Glanztat and Lattenpech
The Graz fans chanted “SK Sturm rules here”, but the hosts clearly set the tone on the pitch. With pressure from the first minute, the Monegasque, who can be found after five rounds with only four points in 16th place in Ligue 1, wanted to quickly clear the way. Sturm was therefore primarily concerned with reacting instead of acting. The home side weren’t really dangerous either, despite their clear superiority against the efforts of the Graz defense.
Just at the moment when the host’s attack wave subsided somewhat, the storm kickers were allowed to thank their goalkeeper: Jörg Siebenhandel prevented Gelson Martins, who had ideally started into the free space, after his shot from a sharp angle “Gurkerl” and thus, secondly, a deficit (26th). Shortly after his brilliant act, the storm goalie was allowed to breathe again: A soulful flick from Martins was only a few centimeters off (30th).
There was little or nothing to be seen from Sturm offensively – and yet the restrained Styrians almost went into the break with a lead. Ljubic simply held onto it from around 20 meters after the ball fell in front of his feet via Hierländer’s heel. Alexander Nübel in the Monaco goal was already beaten, but the crossbar prevented the 1-0 (43rd). But the break score of 0-0 was also a significant increase compared to the last meeting at the same place 21 years ago. At that time it was 3-0 for the home side after 45 minutes.
Diatta breaks the spell
During the break, not only did the Sturm fans, who had sung through for 45 minutes, briefly spare their voices, but also Monaco’s coach Kovac made drastic personnel decisions. The former Salzburg kicker brought three new players, including Cesc Fabregas, a Spanish world and European champion. Sturm coach Ilzer did not make any changes for the time being. Little changed in the event itself either. Monaco still had significantly more possession of the ball, but did not start much with it for the time being.
Even more: The first goal scene of the half belonged to Sturm this time – even if the addition “dangerous” would have been exaggerated. Because at first Kiteishvili failed a direct acceptance, Jakob Jantscher shot the rebound into the clouds (53rd). On the other side, Amadou Dante deflected a dangerous shot over the goal (60 ‘). The Senegalese’s chance turned out to be a warning shot, because only six minutes later the ball floundered in the Graz net. After some good preparatory work by Russian team player Aleksandr Golowin, who was also substituted at the break, Diatta left his careless guard Dante and headed to 1-0 (66th).
Now Sturm-Trainer Ilzer had to react in order not to fly home empty-handed and brought three fresh forces for Kelvin Yeboah, Kiteishvili and Gazibegovic in one go: Anderson Niangbo, Alexander Prass and Lukas Jäger. The Grazers also tried to increase the pressing, but kept inhibiting their switching game with bad passes. Monaco could now limit itself to letting the time slip off the clock. An exercise that the tech-savvy hosts managed to do with ease. Because Sturm had no chance of equalizing until the final whistle. David Affengruber even prevented the 2-0 (90 + 3) after a shot by Wissam Ben Yedder in stoppage time.
Voices for the game:
Christian Ilzer (Sturm-Trainer): “I’m not a fan of saying that 0-0 is a good result. This is absolutely the wrong approach. You have to try to create a lot more relief, to play better possession of the ball, to be clearer in building up the game. It felt nervous, maybe also discouraged. I think we have to adapt to this level first. We missed that a lot today, especially in the first half. “
Niko Kovac (Monaco coach): “It was a tough fight. We didn’t shine, but it wasn’t about shining, but about winning this game. The bottom line was that we deserved to win, except for one crossbar we had the game under control. “
Stefan Hierländer (Sturm-Kapitän): “We hit the bar and then it was a little too little. We didn’t play well in the last third and lost the balls too quickly. Then it becomes difficult. There wasn’t too much respect. It is something new that we are not so used to. We haven’t found the right solutions. We have to learn from this quickly. “
UEFA Europa League, Group B, first matchday
Thursday:
Monaco – Storm 1: 0 (0: 0)
Monaco, Stade Louis II, SR Rumsas (LTU)
Tor: Diatta (66.)
Monaco: Nübel – Aguilar, Maripan, Pavlovic, Jakobs (46. Caio Henrique) – Gelson Martins (46. Golowin), Tchouameni, Matazo (73. Fofana) – Isidor (46. Fabregas), Volland (60. Ben Yedder), Diatta
Sturm: Siebenhandl – Gazibegovic (71st Jäger), Affengruber, Wüthrich, Dante – Hierländer, Gorenc-Stankovic, Ljubic, Kiteishvili (71st Prass) – Yeboah (71st Niangbo), Jantscher (61st Sarkaria)
Yellow cards: Jakobs or Wüthrich, Prass
The best: Diatta, Golowin, Aguilar or Wüthrich, Siebenhandl
