Folarin Balogun, catalyst of the match against Galatasaray is your MVP! | OneFootball

Omnipresent in Monaco's attack, the American, who scored the only goal of the match, enabled the Rouge et Blanc to secure a valuable victory against Galatasaray in the Champions League (1-0). As a result, he was voted MVP on the AS Monaco App.

He found the net! While he had to defend and weather the storm with his teammates during the first half, the second half was more open for Folarin Balogun, who created many opportunities and finished off Galatasaray (68′) to give the Rouge et Blanc three precious points in the Champions League (1-0).

It's normal to miss chances when you're a striker. He believed in himself, and it paid off because he scored the decisive goal that secured the three points for us. That's the most important thing, and I hope he continues like this.

Four big chances created 💪

Indeed, the Monaco striker created the most chances in this match (4) ahead of Denis Zakaria (2) and had the most shots, tied with Victor Osimhen (5). A constant threat, he first headed over the bar from a beautiful cross by Mohammed Salisu (21′), before being unlucky around the hour mark, missing the target twice from a perfect pass by Taki’ Minamino (59′), then forcing his shot too much (62′).

In the image of Radamel Falcao 🤩

Persevering, Balo’ was finally rewarded a few moments later! After a corner kick by Lamine Camara was knocked on by Thilo Kehrer, the American followed the ball closely to break the deadlock (68′). It was his third consecutive Champions League match with a goal after Bodø/Glimt and Pafos which allows him to become the first Monegasque to achieve this in the competition since Radamel Falcao in October-December 2017, as highlighted by our statistics provider Opta..

We're behind Balo' because he does a lot of work off the ball that's very important for us. I'm very happy for him, because it shows strength of character. Folarin has that strength to bounce back!

His tireless effort is rewarded with an MVP 🏆

But more than his decisive goal, he was invaluable in ball retention and defensive duties, as evidenced by his five duels won, including three aerial duels (100% success rate in this area), his three recoveries, and the two fouls he drew. This tireless effort was praised by his coach in the post-match press conference and by Monaco fans, who voted him MVP ahead of Maghnes Akliouche and Lamine Camara, with 54% of the vote. Well done, Folarin! 👏