AS Monaco put up a fight against their Lyonnais hosts under the pouring rain at the OL park on the evening of Sunday, April 28. It only took the Monegasques 22 seconds to score the first of many goals in this challenging fixture.
Maghnes Akliouche wasted no time in carrying the ball up the pitch to establish a lighting quick counterattack, in which Wissam Ben Yedder was found at the far post, setting the skipper up to open the scoring.
Lyon took the lead back from the visiting Principality side with two goals scored in quick succession just over 20 minutes later, with Alexandre Lacazette and Saïd Benrahma proving problematic for Monaco goalie Radoslaw Majecki at the 21st and 25th minute marks.
The intensity carried on well into the second half, wherein Ben Yedder rose to the challenge of equalising with his second goal of the night, scored at the 59th minute after a pinpoint accurate cross from Youssouf Fofana. This goal also brings Ben Yedder level with the second top scorer in the history of the Club, Lucien Cossou, with 115 goals each.
The captain even came close to moving alone to second place almost straight away, but his shot was slightly too far across, and only flirting with Anthony Lopes’ post at the 62nd minute. An imposing presence in this match, Ben Yedder thought he scored a hat-trick after volleying the shot into the top corner, but he was flagged offside.
In the end, it was Malick Fofana who scored the third and final goal of Lyon and the match at the 84th minute, having beaten Majecki in a one on one encounter to forget. With a final scoreline of a less than ideal 3-2 to the hosts, Monaco miss out on any points and must get back to winning ways in order to consolidate second place in the French championship.
The next match will admittedly provide a less challenging opportunity to secure points, as Monaco will host bottom of the league Clermont at the Stade Louis II on Saturday, May 4.
