Recap: Ten-man Monaco hold Lille at home
Match Reports
In a closely-fought match in the Principality, AS Monaco held LOSC Lille to a scoreless draw despite playing the match's last half-hour with ten men.
A strong start for the hosts
With the absence through injury of Folarin Balogun, Monaco boss Adi Hütter handed a start to teenage striker George Ilenikhena, while also bringing fit-again Radoslaw Majecki in goal. Lille were missing the suspended Benjamin André and Tiago Santos among others, meaning that ahead of each returning to the UEFA Champions League, they would have a difficult task at hand.
Monaco took the initiative to start, with Aleksandr Golovin and Eliesse Ben Seghir each spurning good chances in the match's first five minutes. Jonathan David would offer the response for Bruno Génésio's side, but would see his effort denied by Majecki. The match continued with each side battling hard but gaining little before ten minutes before the interval, with Jordan Teze, in for Vanderson at right back, seeing a well-taken shot flash wide of the post. Halftime would come with neither side having broken the deadlock.
Moroccan gems 💎💎
🇲🇦 Eliesse Ben Seghir
🇲🇦 Osame Sahraoui pic.twitter.com/yP7FIOp9nN— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) October 18, 2024
Teze sees red
After the break, though, things changed for Monaco, as Teze was sent off for a second booking just after the hour. Playing with a man advantage, Lille would shortly thereafter come close with an effort by Edon Zhegrova, but it would be the hosts who looked the sharper from that point. Hütter would bring on substitutes and it was one of them, Krépin Diatta, who would lash a shot over the bar. In added time, Lucas Chevalier, would be decisive in keeping out Denis Zakaria, with the match seeing each get a valuable point.
Monaco, who move three points ahead of Paris Saint-Germain in top spot, are next in action in Ligue 1 McDonald's against rivals OGC Nice next Sunday, with a Champions League match against Red Star Belgrade to come first. As for Les Dogues, they'll head to Madrid to take on Atletico Madrid in the week before their own derby encounter next Saturday as they host RC Lens.
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