Heroic with ten men, AS Monaco are defeated late on by Benfica | OneFootball

Long ahead on the scoreboard thanks to their young talents, the Rouge et Blanc finally cracked at the very end of the match to finally lose against the Lisbon team (2-3). A defeat which nevertheless sees them remain in the European Top 8.

It was a frustrating defeat, despite a (very) good performance. Ahead for much of this Champions League Matchday 5 encounter against Benfica, thanks in particular to goals from its young players from the Academy, Eliesse Ben Seghir and Soungoutou Magassa, AS Monaco ended up losing in the final moments (2-3). A frustrating setback, but at the end of which the club from the Principality remains in eighth place in the league phase. ✍️

The context 📅

The Rouge et Blanc approached this 5th matchday of the Champions League with relative confidence, strong in having picked up 10 points from the previous four matches, including an impressive display in the Principality against Belgrade (5-1). But they had to watch out for the Eagles, who needed to win, especially since the Monegasques had never beaten the Lisbon side in two matches (1 draw, 1 defeat).

It will be an interesting match because both teams have a lot of quality, especially offensively. (...) They have six points, we have ten from four games, so they certainly have more pressure on them. I don't want to say it will be an open match but it will be a match with two teams who like to play attacking football.

The eleven 👥

To approach this crucial match and in order to definitively place the Club in at least the play-off round, Adi Hütter decides to trust his usual 4-2-3-1 system. We noted returns to the eleven for Caio Henrique in defence and Lamine Camara in midfield. For the rest, the Akliouche – Ben Seghir – Golovin trio was retained in attack.

The scenario 🎞

Kick-off came in a grand evening atmosphere at the Stade Louis-II, filled with nearly 14,000 spectators. The first thrill ran through the stands with a shot from the 2022 World Champion, Angel Di Maria (8′). But the Monegasques, with strong pressing, responded first through Ben Seghir (9′) then Zakaria (11′), without success.

Ben Seghir sparks to life!

That’s without counting on the hard work done by the attacking midfielder trained at the Academy, who was perfectly served on a cutback by Aleksandr Golovin, at the end of a superb transition initiated by Embolo (1-0, 13′)! It was the fifth goal of the season for the Moroccan international, and the first in his career in the Champions League. The Lisbon players immediately replied, but Vangelis Pavlidis, was flagged offside (15′).

An all-out encounter

It was then necessary to reach the half-hour mark to see a new shot from Ben Seghir, this time curled, go over (29′). On the other hand, the Rouge et Blanc were very happy to see Carreras’ shot blocked by Wilfried Singo (32′).

Then Akliouche’s free kick was close to finding the top corner (36th), who then came very close to equalizing. It took a great Radeck Majecki to stop a one-on-one with Di Maria, then success on Otamendi’s header (37′).

Two goals flagged off by VAR

The match was lively, but half-time came with this advantage. The Monegasques returned with an eye towards doubling their lead, exemplified by Breel Embolo who hit the post with a shot on the turn (47′)

This  misfortune was unfortunately punished by an equalizer from Pavlidis on a mix-up at the back (1-1, 48′). A few minutes of hesitation followed, before Maghnes Akliouche (50′) and then Alexander Bah (53rd) were each denied a goal for offside.

A big first for Magassa!

But the incomprehension is total when Singo receives a second very severe yellow card (58′), which necessitated a double change. But the Rouge et Blanc did not admit defeat, on the contrary, and on a breakthrough by Christian Mawissa in the 16 meters, Soungoutou Magassa found the top corner with a powerful shot (2-1)! It was a first goal in his professional career for another talent from La Diagonale.

Four minutes and the match changes

The crowd was boiling at the Stade Louis-II, which pushed hard behind its players to keep their advantage. Folarin Balogun was even close to soubling the lead at a corner (75′). Unfortunately the match would change in four minutes, when Angel Di Maria would serve Cabral on a plate for the equalizer (2-2, 84′) before doing the same for Amdouni (2-3, 88′). It was a terrible finish for the Monegasques, who had been heroic until then.

AS Monaco therefore loses for the first time in this Champions League campaign but remains despite everything in the Top 8 of the competition. They’ll have to bounce back Sunday in Marseille for the big match of the weekend in Ligue 1.

Key moments 🎥

8′: Di Maria unleashes a shot from 20 meters, which is caught by Majecki 9′: A deflected pass from Akliouche finds Ben Seghir who misses the target 11′: Akliouche passes to Zakaria who is denied by Trubin 13′: Golovin passes to Ben Seghir who finishes past the near post (1-0) 15′: A big miss from Pavlidis who misses the target from close range 29′: Ben Seghir curls a shot just over the bar 32′: Carreras’ shot is deflected by Singo 36′: Akliouche’s free kick is slightly off target 37′: Di Maria has a one-on-0ne with Majecki who wins his duel 37′: Otamendi’s header from a corner grazes the crossbar 47′: Embolo shoots on the turn but hits the post 48′: Pavlidis takes advantage of a mistake at the back to equalize (1-1) 50′: Akliouche’s solo run sees him score a goal which is disallowed for offside 51′: Pavlidis’s header is punched clear by Majecki 53′: Bah’s goal disallowed for Di Maria’s offside 68′: Mawissa finds Magassa who scores from the edge of the area (2-1) 75′: Balogun’s shot at the far post is pushed back by Trubin 84′: Di Maria’s cross finds Cabral’s head and he equalizes (2-2) 86′: Di Maria’s shot from a tight angle hits the side netting 88′: Di Maria crosses for Amdouni who scores with a header (2-3) 97′: Majecki saves against Rollheiser

🗓️ Match details:

Wednesday, November 27 (21:00) – Stade Louis-II

Champions League – Matchday 5: AS Monaco 2-3 Benfica

Haltime: 1-0

Goals: Ben Seghir (13′) and Magassa (68′) for AS Monaco; Pavlidis (48′), Cabral (84′) and Amdouni (88′) for Benfica

Bookings: Zakaria (40′), Kehrer (41′), Singo (42′, 58′) and Mawissa (79′) for AS Monaco; Florentino Luis (5′), Carreras (30′) and Aktürkoglu (42′) for Benfica

Dismissals: Singo (58′)

Substitutes: Gomes, Soares, Bajrami, Kaboré, Parente, Silva, Amdouni, Barreiro, Félix, Schjelderup, Cabral, Rollheiser