Recap: Monaco held in Le Havre
AS Monaco continued their frustrating run of form in Ligue 1 McDonald's as they were held to a scoreless draw away to Le Havre. Catch up on the action from Normandy with our match recap.
A cagey first half
At a boisterous Stade Océane and with both sides in need of a win, managers Didier Digard and Sébastien Pocognoli both fielded strong elevens, even with the Principality side having played midweek in Madrid. George Ilenikhena was the only surprise in Pocognoli's eleven, while Le Havre, who were coming off a creditable draw away to Stade Rennais, made few changes to their eleven, with Lucas Gourna-Douath the only new face following what's been a busy start to the mercato for Le Club Doyenne.
Le Havre, as is their wont under Digard, were generally controlling possession, but Monaco looked more threatening on the counter, only being undone by a lack of a finishing touch from Ilenikhena in particular, who missed several chances (7', 17, 23') early doors. Already limited by injuries, Monaco were then undone by having their own January signing, Wout Faes, taken off injured (28'). Six minutes later, following a scramble in the box, Monaco would have another chance, but Kassoum Ouattara fired over from close range (34'), and in the same action, VAR was consulted for a penalty, but it came to nothing and the two sides entered the break with neither having found the net.
𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗶 !
Le HAC récolte un bon point (et un clean-sheet !) face aux Monégasques ! Nos Ciel&Marine ont encore démontré de superbes valeurs ! 🤝#HACASM pic.twitter.com/TaUny2gctF— Havre Athletic Club ⚽️ (@HAC_Foot) January 24, 2026
Honors even
Into the second half, Le Havre came out with more initiative and Löic Nego flashed an effort just over the bar (48'). Monaco responded, but Lamine Camara, making his first start following his win with Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations, would lash a shot over the bar (54'). Both sides made changes as they sought to break the deadlock, but we would have to wait until the 73rd minute for another good chance, with Denis Zakaria getting into a good position but failing to square the ball to a pair of waiting teammates.
On 76 minutes, Monaco again showed themselves dangerous, as a fine ball over the top from Aleksandr Golovin found Maghnes Akliouche, but the Frenchman's cross was cut out for a corner. Le Havre struggle to clear, and Folarin Balogun let loose with a powerful shot that Lionel Mpasi just tipped over. Mpasi was busy again on the break with a strong hand to stop Balogun. Le Havre would have a shout for a penalty in the last minute of regular time, but there were no more further chances in the three minutes that followed, leaving both sides frustrated.
Monaco now sit tenth, having slipped behind Lorient after Les Merlus' win and will next host Juventus in the Champions League in the week, before hosting Rennes in the league on Saturday. As for Le Havre, with the point, they pull ahead of Paris FC, and remain six points ahead of the bottom three ahead of tomorrow's matches ahead of tricky trip to Lens on Friday.
The stat: 4
Since the end of October, AS Monaco have picked up only four points in Ligue 1 McDonald's -- only OGC Nice (1) have fewer.
