UCL Recap: Wilfried Singo stars as Monaco see off Aston Villa

AS Monaco came away with a vital win against Premier League side Aston Villa at Stade Louis II on Tuesday evening.

Adi Hütter's AS Monaco side grabbed their fourth UEFA Champions League win of the season to move up to ninth in the table after beating Premier League side Aston Villa at Stade Louis II. A returning Wilfied Singo would provide a starring role, scoring early on to earn ASM a huge boost to their UCL qualifying ambitions.

For both sides, a draw would have suited both parties to qualify for the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League before the game, but a win for either side would be even better going into the last games of the League Phase. Adi Hütter's side were buoyed by the returns of two key players in Denis Zakaria and Wilfried Singo to face a tough test in Unai Emery's Aston Villa.

The Premier League side started on the right foot and began to generate some half chances in the early periods of the game. Yet Les Monégasuqes managed to threaten themselves with Maghnes Akliouche proving a handful from the very outset with a driving run on goal and a strike which was saved smartly by Emilianio Martinez. From the following corner Wilfried Singo rose highest and towered over the Villa defence to plant a powerful header into the back of the net to open the scoring for the hosts (7').

Singo scores vital goal

Singo scored a vital goal on his return to the side, and almost followed up a few minutes later with another diving header from a freekick. The principality side were full of confidence after going a goal to the good, starting to hold onto the ball more effectively and press high up the pitch. A defensive error from the Villa defence let Ben Seghir in behind the defence and he provided a great pullback to Akliouche whose excellently hit strike was saved well by Martinez.

The Premier League side started to fight back midway through the first half, with Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins proving a handful for the Monaco defence. Frenchman Boubacar Kamara's movement in midfield was tricky to deal with, as Villa started to build up the pitch to try and make progress on their one goal deficit. Luca Digne's freekick from the edge of the box looked dangerous, but Majecki held on well with a solid stop. The Monégasque keeper had to be on guard once again as Leon Bailey tried to sneak in a stinging strike at the near post.

Just before the half-time whistle, Majecki provided another fantastic save. This time Ollie Watkins was played through on goal with superb reverse-ball, and the Englishman's low strike would be parried away to safety by the Polish keeper. Aston Villa were quick out the gates for the second half as Ollie Watkins had a snapshot on goal which went just wide. Akliouche would then have the ball in the back of the net for the Monégasques after a pacey counter-attacking move, but it was flagged immediately for offside.

The hosts were finding spaces on the counter-attack to hit Villa who were pushing hard for an equaliser, but it was the away side that went close to scoring but Matty Cash's low strike from a tight angle just trickled wide of the post. As the second half drew on, ASM looked more confident in terms of attacking play, with the entry of Aleksander Golovin adding some fresh creativity up front.

Adi Hütter's men managed to see out the remaining minutes of injury time with relative ease, and were rewarded for a solid defensive display with a vital three points to put them in the driving seat ahead of the last Champions League Matchday.

THE STAT:  Super Singo 

Out of Wilfried Singo's 56 defensive actions, 16 have been clearances. Only 3 outfield players have managed more clearances in a Champions League match since 2016. He also became the first player to score a Champions League goal in January since Giovanni Sacco with Juventus against Eintracht Braunschweig on January 31, 1968.

Match Reactons

Monaco coach Adi Hütter - "I'm really happy with this victory, we were in a difficult situation. Our team didn't give up, they had this desire to defend and for this I'm very happy." 
 

Aston Villa Coach Unai Emery - "Of course Monaco had a game plan and good transition and they were keeping a lot of possession and were great with some transitions."
 

READ MORE: 

>>Wilfried 'Chokbar' Singo: Monaco's technical colossus