Monaco strike early to earn first win of Sébastien Pocognoli era

The Sébastien Pocognoli era at AS Monaco is up and running thanks to a slender win over Toulouse FC (1-0).

Salisu continues rich vein of form

Performances under Pocognoli, who replaced Adi Hutter during the international break, have been positive, but the win had been lacking. The draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League in midweek deserved more than the solitary point, as both managers conceded, but it left Pocognoli waiting for his first victory.

As it transpired, the Belgian didn't have to wait too much longer. It was a lightning quick start from Monaco on Saturday evening as they caught Toulouse napping inside the opening few minutes.

Kassoum Ouattara, afforded too much space on the left, put the ball in and found the onrushing Mohammed Salisu, whose header found the corner. The defender continues his fine form, having also scored with Ghana while on international duty. It was almost a quickfire double for the hosts. Ansu Fati was put through on goal in the sixth minute, but Monaco's top goal-scorer in Ligue 1 McDonald's could not beat the onrushing Guillaume Restes.

🇬🇭 Goal for Ghana
🇲🇨 Goal for Monaco

A scoring season so far for Mohammed Salisu 👏 pic.twitter.com/MJKNpOWMhl
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) October 25, 2025

The France youth international was called into action again before the break. It was Folarin Balogun who this time drew an excellent save from the Toulouse goalkeeper, and on the rebound, Fati could not find the target.

Le TéFéCé did look dangerous at times, paritcularly from long throws and set-pieces, but they failed to ever truly test Philipp Kohn in the Monaco goal. Instead, it was the Principality club who looked most likely to add to the scoreline.

Former Toulouse defender shines at heart of Monaco defence

George Ilenikhena attempted to lob Restes but misjudged his long-range effort, making it easy for the opposition goalkeeper. Emersson went closest for Toulouse with a glanced effort that drifted just wide of the far post, but the majority of the second-half chances came Monaco's way.

Pape Cabral, off the bench, forced Restes into his finest save of the night before then blasting against the post on the rebound. It was a fine goalkeeping performance, from Vicario, that denied Monaco in midweek, and Pocognoli may have been fearing a repeat, but Toulouse could not find a way to breach the excellent Monaco defence, led by one of their own academy products, Christian Mawissa.

The stat: 2

Whilst Monaco had not won any of their last four in all competitions going into this game, however, the Stade Louis II is something of a fortress. They are yet to lose a game at home during 2025. They are one of just two clubs in European top five leagues not to have lost at home during the calendar year. The other? Serie A giants Napoli.

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