AS Monaco have crucially managed to maintain their marvellous momentum with an important win against Stade Brestois at the Stade Francis Le Blé on the afternoon of Sunday, April 21.
Clearly the more confident side in this clash despite the disadvantage of playing away, Monaco applied pressure to their hosts right from kick-off. However, shots were few and far between. That was until five minutes before halftime, when Denis Zakaria unleashed a beautifully curved shot just out of reach of the fully stretched Brestois goalkeeper, and just inside the far post to make it 0-1 to Monaco.
Not content with just the one goal advantage, Monaco came back to bite two minutes into the second half, as Krepin Diatta drove into the Brest box and squared it to an oncoming Takumi Minamino. No stranger to finding the back of the net, the Japanese international smashed the ball in, and then had to wait while VAR deliberated and ultimately awarded Minamino and Monaco the goal to bring the scoreline to 0-2 at the 47th minute.
The Monegasques continued to fire on all cylinders, but were unable to score again in this fixture. Adi Hütter attempted to remedy this by bringing on Breel Embolo for the first time since the Swiss striker sustained a Knee injury over eight months ago. The heavy hitter did not score on this occasion, but his return to the pitch is welcome news to Monaco supporters.
The final whistle thereafter signalled a 0-2 victory to Monaco, which allowed the Monegasque’s to leapfrog Brest in the French championship and take second place in Ligue 1. If Hütter concludes this season on the Ligue 1 podium, then Monaco qualifies for EUFA Champions League football next season, the toughest and most glorious European club tournament, and one in which Monaco has a knack for pleasantly surprising.
Rapidly approaching, the next match will see Monaco host Lilles at the Stade Louis II on Wednesday, April 24 at 21:00.
Featured image courtesy of AS Monaco
