Reduced to ten men an hour into the game, Monaco did not hold out in the face of Benfica’s repeated attacks at the end of the match, and especially the caviars distilled by Angel Di Maria, who allowed the Portuguese to win in the Principality (3 -2).
After scoring the 2-1 goal through Soungoutou Magassa (67th), the Monegasques thought they had done the hardest part, even when outnumbered. But Benfica is a big player in Europe. Supported by nearly 4,000 supporters, Angel Di Maria and his family never gave up.
And the former Parisian gave two goals to Arthur Cabral (2-2, 84th) and Mohamed Zeki Amdouni (3-2, 88th) on two perfect crosses. This victory allows the Portuguese to move up to 14th place in the standings with 9 points.
Monaco, for its part, made a bad operation. Adi Hütter’s men remain in the Top 8 (8th with 10 points). But they will now play three very complicated matches: two perilous trips, to London to challenge Arsenal, then to Milan to face Inter on the last day, interspersed with the reception of Aston Villa.
However, the Monegasques attacked very hard: high pressing, splitting, withdrawn crosses… The whole range was there with the will-o’-the-wisp Ben Seghir supporting Breel Embolo, Aleksandr Golovin on the left, supported by Caio Henrique, Maghnès Akliouche on right, supported by Vanderson.
On the lookout, Golovin put back without control for Ben Seghir. The young 19-year-old Moroccan was quick to score the first of his career in the Champions League (1-0, 13th).
This goal rewarded an excellent and successful first quarter of an hour for Monaco, during which Akliouche gave a goal ball to Denis Zakaria (11th). And fortunately since, from then on, Benfica took possession of the field and pushed very hard.
But like Thilo Kehrer’s impeccable intervention after one of Lamine Camara’s rare ball losses (22nd), the Monegasque rearguard was initially vigilant and intelligent.
Singo excluded, Embolo on the post
To these quality collective defensive retreats, like that of Akliouche (30th) were added defensive attitudes that Hütter must have appreciated (counters from Caio Henrique and Singo on attempts by Di Maria and Carreras, 32nd).
That wasn’t enough. The Portuguese attacked even harder. It then took a great save from Radoslaw Majecki in front of Di Maria who took advantage of an ill-adjusted back pass from Ben Seghir to find himself one-on-one. The Monegasque goalkeeper then pulled off the parade in the first period (37th).
On the corner, he was happy to see Nicolas Otamendi’s header go just over the top (37th) before being decisive again on a good attempt from Kerem Aktürkoglu (40th).
If upon returning from the locker room, Embolo lacked success after seeing his pivot hit Trubin’s post (47th), the sentence arrived immediately. An innocuous back pass from Caio Henrique was poorly adjusted and Vangelis Pavlidis prowled with instinct to equalize despite the exit of Majecki (1-1, 48th).
But the real turning point came in the 58th minute, when Wilfried Singo was sent off harshly for a second booking. Before the break, in the same situation, the Lisbon full-back Carreras had not been sanctioned in this way, which had upset the young Monegasques (41st) and Singo sanctioned with a first card.
In the end, Monaco did not go the distance. Certainly, Adi Hütter’s changes initially paid off, since Mawissa crossed for Magassa who gave the Red and Whites the advantage with a magnificent recovery without control at the entrance to the area (2-1, 67th ). But then, Monaco suffered from Portuguese offensives. And twice Di Maria served caviar…
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