An eventful meeting between AS Monaco and bottom of the table team FC Lorient ultimately ended in a last-gasp draw at the Stade Louis II on the afternoon of Sunday, March 17.
The drama ensued right from kick-off, as Lorient’s Mohamed Bamba’s ball deflected off Wiflried Singo and into the back of the net, bringing the score to 0-1 just one minute into the match. This very early goal went down as an own goal for Singo, but fortunately for Monaco, the visitors conceded an own goal to level the scoreline just 25 minutes later.
The excitement got back under way in the second half, in which Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana was able to score to get the hosts back ahead at the 59th minute, courtesy of yet another assist by Aleksandr Golovin in red and white.
A Denis Zakaria yellow card followed minutes later, and that was followed by a second yellow and a subsequent red just 20 minutes later, bringing the home side down to just 10 men at the 82nd minute. The numbers became equal again minutes later, as Lorient striker Tosin Aiyegun was also ejected from the field seeing red.
Somewhat poetically, it was former Monaco player Tiemoue Bakayoko who scored for Lorient five full minutes into injury time, denying Monaco a win in the final moments of a match not without drama. With this last minute goal, Monaco move on from the fixture with one point, and continue to sit just below Brest in third place in Ligue 1.
The next match will see Monaco face off against Metz away on Saturday, March 30, after the international break from club football. Metz currently occupy 17th place out of a possible 18 in the French championship, but as Lorient proved at the Stade Louis II, the underdogs can not be underestimated.
Featured image courtesy of AS Monaco
