PLAYER RATINGS | Strasbourg 3-1 Monaco: Julio Enciso’s brace sends Alsatians into the Coupe de France quarter-finals | OneFootball

Coupe de France Crédit Agricole, Round of 16, 05/02/26

Strasbourg have qualified for the Coupe de France quarter-finals at the expense of AS Monaco. Martial Godo opened the scoring in the first half and Julio Enciso ensured the Alsatians’ success with a six-minute brace.

The Match

Spurned on by their remarkable 4-0 home Ligue 1 win against Rennes on Saturday, AS Monaco needed to go far in the Coupe de France to bolster their chances of securing European football next season. The competition has been blown wide open with PSG going out in the previous stage.

Les Monégasques started on the front foot, recovering possession numerous times as the Alsatians were forced to lose the ball. But Strasbourg only needed one passage of play forward to find the back of the net, against the run of play. After a quick burst of pace down the right channel, Diego Moreira crossed for Joaquin Panichelli at the far post. The Argentine’s deflection found Martial Godo, whose header just about crept its way in.

Strasbourg’s 7th-minute opener completely killed off Monaco’s early momentum and emboldened the hosts. Panichelli went close to double his side’s lead in volleying wide from Valentin Barco’s cross. The game opened up a bit with both sides squandering several opportunities. Mike Penders was on hand to deny Denis Zakaria and Maghnes Akliouche with a couple of good saves.

Although Les Monégasques enjoyed more possession, they were often frustrated by their opponents. Four Monaco players (Biereth, Vanderson, Zakaria, Golovin) were needlessly booked in the first half alone. The Russian winger didn’t feature for the second half, and neither did Caio Henrique as Sébastien Pocognoli opted to switch Monaco’s left side with the half-time introductions of Simon Adingra and Caio Henrique.

The second half came alive with a 6-minute goal blitz, which started by Enciso neatly doubling Strasbourg’s lead after a superb line-breaking pass from Barco. The Paraguay international looked close to being offside, but no check took place as VAR is not implemented in this Coupe de France round. Mika Biereth instilled some hope in halving Monaco’s deficit with a precise low effort into Penders’ bottom corner.

But the Dane’s effort was cancelled out with Strasbourg retaking their two-goal lead. Les Monégasques were the makers of their own misfortune with Zakaria tackling the ball towards Thilo Kehrer. The German international lost his footing in his penalty box, and Enciso was on hand to punish this poor mistake with a lofted finish past Philipp Köhn.

The tempo of the game died out with Strasbourg carefully managing the final exchanges, although Folarin Balogun rattled Penders’ crossbar in the final ten minutes. In the end, Strasbourg’s individual quality and Monaco’s defensive mistakes proved the differences. 

The Alsatians progress into the Coupe de France quarter-finals with Stade Reims awaiting them. As for Monaco, their domestic campaign continues to disappoint, and they’ll need a big comeback up the Ligue 1 table to secure European football next season.

Strasbourg player ratings

Mike Penders – 7

The Chelsea loanee was strong in the air and equally good to frustrate Monaco players with a handful of good saves  in the first half. Little he could do to prevent Biereth’s goal.

Abdoul Ouattara – 5

Ismaël Doukouré – 6

Lucas Høgsberg – 4

Guéla Doué – 6

Samir El Mourabet – 6

Valentin Barco – 7

The Argentine was sorely missed on Sunday as he was ineligible to play against PSG through suspension. He showed tonight why he is one of the best midfielders in Ligue 1 with an all-action display capped with an assist.

Martial Godo – 6

Julio Enciso – 8

A man of the match performance with a brilliant six-minute brace that sank Monaco’s hopes in the second half. He showed great composure to round Köhn for his first, before chipping him to complete his brace.

Diego Moreira – 6

Joaquin Panichelli – 7

The centre-forward didn’t score tonight, but he was an essential pawn in Gary O’Neil’s game with a tireless shift up front that hurt Monaco’s centre-backs. Involved in two of Strasbourg’s goals tonight.

Selected Monaco player ratings

Thilo Kehrer – 3

Mika Biereth – 5

GFFN | Bastien Cheval