Two goals down and miles off the pace at half-time, AS Monaco admirably rebounded to salvage a 2-2 draw with AJ Auxerre at the Stade Louis‑II under the gaze of President Dmitry Rybolovlev as the club celebrated the Academy’s 50th anniversary.
The Match
To begin the match, Sébastien Pocognoli kept faith in his 3‑4‑2‑1 system. With Lamine Camara suspended, Aladji Bamba was drafted into midfield, where he was joined by Jordan Teze, who shifted inside to allow Krépin Diatta to take up the right‑sided role.
Following the ceremonial kick‑off, symbolically taken by three club‑trained players, Jean‑Luc Ettori, Bruno Bellone and Abdel Bakayoko, the youngest member of the La Diagonale academy, things didn’t get off to an ideal start, for AJA struck first when Kévin Danois smashed in a volley after Thilo Kehrer’s clearance (11).
Despite ASM immediately looking to level the ledger, Auxerre doubled their lead when Lassine Sinayoko punished a Lukáš Hrádecký error (33). Although Teze and Denis Zakaria fired off attempts, Monaco couldn’t close the deficit before the break.
Pocognoli threw on Simon Adingra to shake things up as both teams traded blows. Then came the turnaround. Ansu Fati rifled in from long range (56) to bag his ninth of the season. And shortly after, Folarin Balogun won and converted a penalty, having been clipped by Donovan Léon (59) to extend his scoring streak to eight consecutive games.
The stadium rose once more, and Balogun looked to have struck again, but the flag went up and the goal was disallowed for offside (65).
Hrádecký was alert to two routine strikes from Marvin Senaya (63) and Sinayoko (68), while at the other end Maghnes Akliouche was closest to finding a winner, sliding a superb ball across for Diatta (79). The tension was palpable, but Monaco couldn’t land the knockout blow and ultimately had to settle for a draw.
Pocognoli’s debrief
“This match reflects our season; we’re reacting overall. We’ll see at the end of the season whether we view this draw as half-empty or half-full. There was a reaction that gives a small sense of positivity in coming back from behind, since doing so is still an achievement. The last 30 minutes of the first half were very poor collectively, whereas the first 10 had been decent in terms of what we were trying to implement. Everyone was below their usual level,” insisted the Belgian tactician.
“This is the third match in a row where we haven’t started the right way, which is disappointing and something we’ll have to analyse. Is it a factor in our playing style or a mental approach? In any case, I’m trying to have as much of an impact as possible on that. At half-time, I asked for a reaction, and they delivered. That’s positive because the second half was very good, with a lot of impact from Simon Adingra, in particular.”
Key stats
By the numbers, the fact ASM held the ascendancy in terms of expected goals (2.30 to 0.75), total shots (15 to 12), big chances created (2 to 0), shots inside the box (10 to 8), passes in the opposition half (290 to 94) and touches inside the opposition box (42 to 13) illustrated Monaco did enough to prevail in an encounter where their rough opening proved costly.
Toulouse test awaits
This result leaves Monaco seventh in Ligue 1, still clinging to hopes of reaching the Champions League places. To keep that ambition alive, victory away at Toulouse has now become essential, though earning it on the road at the Stadium de Toulouse will be no simple task.
