After a dismal display and a 0-4 loss at the Stade Louis II a week prior, the players of AS Monaco seem to have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, winning by 1-2 in Angers on the afternoon of Sunday, May 7.

The greatest talking point from the whole 90+6 minutes was without a doubt Aleksandr Golovin’s goal from beyond the box in the dying moments of the first half. The Russian was found by a sensibly sideways pass courtesy of Vanderson, before he unleashed a powerful strike into the top right corner of the hosts’ net, leaving the Angers goalie helplessly stood still and bringing Monaco ahead to 0-1 at the 45th minute.

Perhaps this provided Philippe Clement’s men with the boost they needed after their recent slump, as the Monegasques reemerged from the locker room with confidence not complacence. On a lighting counter attack at the 60th minute, Youssouf Fofana found Myron Boadu, who had no problem deceiving the Angers defence before extending the visitors’ lead with a goal of his own to make it 0-2.

The hosts responded with a goal from Abdullah Sima just four minutes later to narrow the gap between themselves and a tricky Principality side, which crucially did not fold.

A flurry of substitutions followed the round of goals in the second half, but no newcomer was able to get their name on the scoresheet before the final whistle blew, marking an important 1-2 win for Monaco.

With this away victory under their belts, the Monegasques are still in the fight to finish high up the Ligue 1 table and subsequently qualify to play European football next season. As it stands, Monaco continue to occupy fourth place, while Marseille and Lens in third and second place respectively are slowly catching up to league leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

The next fixture will not be easy, as Monaco will host fifth place Lille at the Stade Louis II on Sunday, May 14.

Featured image courtesy of AS Monaco; Aleksandr Golovin reacts to his long range goal