A rollercoaster ride of results continues for AS Monaco, as the red and whites followed a forgettable 1-2 home defeat to Toulouse with a victory against the mightier RC Lens, away on Sunday, February 25.

Monaco striker Folarin Balogun managed to break away from a 7 game-long goal draught, as he broke away from Lens defender Kevin Danso before slotting the ball past Brice Samba in goal from a ridiculously close angle, bringing the visiting Monegasques ahead by 0-1 at the 19th minute.

It was then the turn of Monaco midfielder Takumi Minamino to shine, as he scored from an even tighter angle by forcing Samba’s hand, and subsequently the ball into the back of the net to make it 0-2 to Monaco by the 29th minute.

Lens found an answer almost immediately thereafter through Elye Wahi, who narrowly avoided the offside flag with a goal at the 32nd minute. Despite the conceded goal, Radeck Majecki was solid in between the Principality’s posts, having gone on to make some great saves at the dawn of the second half.

After over an hour of intense football, the Monegasques’ slightly let their collective guard down and conceded yet again, this time the equaliser courtesy of Wesley Saïd at the 77th minute. Drama was in no shortage at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, as a penalty was awarded to Monaco just a few moments later.

Balogun’s strike from the spot was stopped by Samba, an opportunity to regain the lead squandered at the 82nd minute. However, this proved to not be the end of the story for Monaco and the 800 supporters who made the journey up north to Lens, as Minamino sensationally scored two minutes into injury time.

The Japanese international struck the ball with venom to seal the deal once and for all, contributing massively to a 2-3 scoreline at the final whistle. With this crucial win in the bag, Monaco provisionally return to third place in the Ligue 1 table, and will be looking to protect their position on the podium when they take on league leaders Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade Louis II on Friday, March 1.

Featured image courtesy of AS Monaco