Ligue 1 – Although held by Lille (0-0), Monaco continues to impress: “They will tickle PSG this year”

It wasn’t the match of the year. It must be said that the recovery after an international break is never easy for the big Ligue 1 teams who see their players return, sometimes very tired. But this draw (0-0) between the Monegasque leader and Lille does not accurately reflect what happened this Friday evening on the lawn of the Louis-II stadium. If it was not brilliant, AS Monaco would have generally deserved to win and they could have achieved it down to the wire if Lucas Chevalier had not magnificently intervened in front of Denis Zakaria in stoppage time.

The Lille goalkeeper, who once again showed why he was seriously knocking on the door of the French team, did not lack lucidity in his analysis at the microphone of DAZN. “It doesn’t matter much. This last Monegasque opportunity comes as a result of a collective error and that embarrasses us. We have to be very careful and correct that because I was able to save the shot today, but I don’t think that will be the case in every match. Overall, we take a draw because we were in difficulty today. I am a support guard. I can’t see the ball leaving, because I’m a little obscured as his back is, so I don’t know what he’s going to do. The parade is beautiful!“, he agreed.

That Monaco dominated at home was expected. But given the scenario of the game, the northern apathy was disappointing. After the red card from Jordan Teze, very late and dangerous in his intervention on Gabriel Gudmundsson – his leg having landed on the chest or even the blow of his opposite number –, LOSC had a good half hour to take advantage of its numerical superiority and did nothing about it. It was even the Monegasques who were the most dangerous until the end, Adi Hütter emphasizing that his team had been the best on the pitch.

His Lille counterpart Bruno Génésio also agreed and was not kind to his people. “I only remember the draw point this evening. I hate seeing my team play like that. I always have the habit of prioritizing content over result because I think that’s how we can move forward. There is nothing else to remember. We had planned things and we didn’t do them, that’s what annoys me a lot. When we plan things and don’t do them, either it’s because we didn’t have the ability to do it, or because we want to play differently than what I had planned, and That bothers me. (…) I think there was a way to counter Monegasque’s good pressing by using the flanks. But we only did it once or twice, that’s too few. I am disappointed with the face we showed this evening, very disappointed“, he regretted.

The state of the pitch certainly did not make the task easier for the two teams, but one did what was necessary to win, while the other played until the end not to lose and almost get punished. But if the Lille people were so cautious, it was also because they had a lot of respect for a team that they feared. Lucas Chevalier, who once again turned into a savior this Friday evening – his 37th “clean sheet” in 93 matches with Lille – did not hide the fact that he had been very impressed by the Monegasques.

“In the first minutes, they showed a lot of commitment and intensity. It’s a Champions League team, I think it’s going to really tickle PSG this year honestlyhe said. It plays very, very well, their starters are as creative as the leavers like Akliouche in the last action. In small spaces, they are capable of hurting. We really had trouble getting the balloons out. If we had been cleaner technically, if we had played simpler and if we had been more intelligent in the last 30 meters, there was room for improvement. But we don’t deserve more.”

Before PSG’s match against Strasbourg, Monaco nevertheless consolidated its status as leader of the championship with a three-point lead. And if the capital’s club can come back to the level, that of the Principality reinforces its status as a serious competitor, release after release. Because this Friday evening, this numerically inferior draw tastes like a victory.