Winner of the Turks in an atmosphere hostile to Louis-II, the ASM remains more than ever in the race for qualification in the play-offs.
The ASM went to get her. Monaco, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, pocketed a crucial success on Tuesday against Galatasaray (1-0) with a view to qualifying for the Champions League play-offs, thanks to a goal from Folarin Balogun. The American striker scored (68th) for the third consecutive C1 match, a performance that no Monegasque has achieved since his illustrious predecessor Radamel Falcao, in 2017.
With nine points in six matches, ASM is in 18th place out of 36, but with Real Madrid then Juventus to face during the last two days, in January, everything still remains to be done to finish in the top 24, which means a ticket for the next round.
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The Principality’s players will come to these two meetings energized by their performance on Tuesday. Against the Turks, they showed self-sacrifice and collective strength to recover from a missed penalty and resist their opponents. Sébastien Pocognoli’s men also benefited from a stroke of luck to score. Injured in a thigh, Istanbul goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir had to give way to Günay Güvenç, just before the corner which led to Balogun’s goal (68th).
In a very noisy Stade Louis-II and entirely committed to the Turkish cause, Galatasaray tried to strike first. The percussions of Leroy Sané on the right and Baris Yilmaz on the left, accompanied by the calls of the German playing master Ilkay Gündogan, have the mission to put the Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen into orbit.
Encouragement strike
These cogs are perfectly oiled in Galatasaray. And gradually, after a few failures in the game (6th, 9th), then at the conclusion, like on this recovery from Gündogan above on a cross from the ex-Monegasque Ismail Jakobs (13th) or this header from Osimhen off target (16th), they were more and more precise.
The Monegasque ultras in conflict with the club’s sports management, whose resignation they want, may have returned after a quarter of an hour of encouragement strike, but they were as dominated as their players. But neither Yilmaz (19th), nor Sané (34th), nor Osimhen twice (36th and 39th) managed to beat Lukas Hradecky and his defense, all very concentrated.
Better for Monaco, they were also dangerous. From his dressing room, Prince Albert, accompanied by the Russian billionaire president of the Rouge et Blanc club, Dmitri Rybolovlev, was able to appreciate three great opportunities from his team.
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Twice, powerful strikes from Maghnes Akliouche forced Cakir to make two saves (20th, 30th). While the angry transition of captain Denis Zakaria, ended with a header just wide from a cross from Takumi Minamino, could have deserved a better fate (24th). It was upon returning from the locker room that the Monegasques decided to react. And they should have led before the hour mark.
Zakaria misses a penalty… without consequences
First, Cakir released Minamino’s recovery (48th). But the quicker Japanese beat Davinson Sanchez to cause a penalty, which the referee awarded after the intervention of the video assistant referee. Zakaria kissed the ball but missed his attempt, shooting hard at the Turkish goalkeeper (50th).
After this missed penalty, it was Folarin Balogun, who masterfully missed, at the end of an action perfectly carried out by Akliouche then Minamino, the last passer (59th). The American could have collapsed, since behind him, he missed another good one (62nd). But it didn’t happen. And Monaco snatched a victory full of symbolism.
