PLAYER RATINGS | Monaco 1-0 Saint-Étienne: Takumi Minamino goal secures win in Ligue 1 opener | OneFootball

Luke Entwistle reporting from Stade Louis II, Monaco

Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Round 1, 17/08/2024

AS Monaco secured a deserved victory over AS Saint-Étienne (1-0), despite a profligate display, consigning the visitors to a losing return to the top-flight.

Les Stéphanois turned up in numbers for their return to Ligue 1, representing several thousand of the 14,250 fans packed into the Stade Louis II. Their opponents were witihout key players such as Wilfried Singo and Aleksandr Golovin, however, the Principality club still had more than enough quality in their ranks to create frequent chances.

Takumi Minamino almost put Monaco ahead, but his finish was ruled out by VAR for a tight offside. Just seconds later, Ibrahim Sissoko had the ball in the net for ASSE. Just like Minamino’s strike, it was also ruled out for offside – this one was a lot more obvious.

Minamino then had the ball in the net again just seven minutes later. With the offside flag raised as his sublime chipped finish hit the back of the net, there was no celebration. However, the goal was awarded after a lengthy VAR check. Monaco were largely in control, with Denis Zakaria and new signing Lamine Camara asserting themselves in the centre of the park, however, Saint-Étienne had their chances.

All of them fell to Sissoko, who wasn’t at his efficient best on the night. He forced Philipp Köhn into a good save at the end of the first-half, but should have done better when baring down on goal. Monaco continued to carve chances in the second-half. Had he taken a better first touch, Minamino could have doubled his account but Gautier Larsonneur smoothered the Japanese international’s effort.

Monaco then thought that they had won a penalty to double their advantage. Although Clement Turpin initially pointed to the spot when Eliesse Ben Seghir went down inside the box, consultation with VAR saw him overturn his initial call. Minamino had another shot saved as Les Monégasques struggled to create a buffer.

They were almost punished. Sissoko put the ball in the net, latching onto Zuriko Davitashvili’s cross, however, a lengthy VAR review showed that the Georgia international was marginally offside in the build-up. Having been let off the hook, Monaco held on to secure the three points and get their campaign off to a winning start. Saint-Étienne begin with a loss, despite an encouraging display.

Monaco player ratings

Philipp Köhn – 6

Ismail Jakobs – 6

Mohammed Salisu – 5

Thilo Kehrer – 5

Vanderson – 6

Always a threat down the right, it was his cross-field ball that found Minamino for the one and only goal of the match. Had little success with his crosses but a thorn in the side of the Saint-Étienne defence and snuffed out threats in Monaco’s own half.

Eliesse Ben Seghir – 5

Lamine Camara – 7

A very composed debut for Camara, who in possession was clean, error-free and metronomic. Out-of-possession, he covered the spaces well and tracked runs brilliantly. A very good start to life at the Principality club for the former Metz man.

Denis Zakaria – 6

Takumi Minamino – 7

Minamino picked up from where he left off last season, proving a constant threat, finding pockets of space in between the lines and superbly netting what proved to be the only goal of the game.

Breel Embolo – 7

Embolo was really missed last year. He has such great variety in his play and his ability to hold the ball up, roll players and make runs in behind meant that he got the better of the Saint-Étienne defence throughout.

Folarin Balogun – 4

Another frustrating evening for the former Arsenal forward who, despite being important in build-up, missed a guild-edged chance when put through one-on-one with the game at 0-0.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle