Dominant AS Monaco breeze past Strasbourg

Under the watchful eyes of Prince Albert II and AS Monaco President, Dmitry Rybolovlev, Les Monegasques produced an exceptional display to defeat Strasbourg 3-0 at the Stade Louis II.

The Match

Having claimed an impressive victory over Clermont Foot in their Ligue 1 opener, Adi Hutter notably brought new signings Denis Zakaria and Wilfried Singo straight into the starting line-up, as he stuck with his preferred 3-4-2-1.

Getting off to a bright start in the hot conditions on the French Riviera, ASM looked good in possession on their way to generating some promising openings, with Takumi Minamino, Wissam Ben Yedder and Aleksandr Golovin all looking very dangerous indeed.

Minamino then made his team’s dominance count when he blasted home a scintillating goal from range to power the home outfit ahead 20 minutes in.

Just a quarter of an hour later, the Japanese international was on hand again to double his team’s lead by finding the back of the net with a magnificent header following a typically brilliant delivery from Caio Henrique.

After enjoying an outstanding first half, the challenge was always going to be making sure they kept up their level into the second stanza. And they did precisely that, as Ben Yedder quickly made it 3-0, as ASM then shrewdly managed the match to run out comfortable winners.

Keeping a clean sheet and looking superb going forward, this latest display was littered with upside, as Hutter’s men propelled themselves to the summit of the Ligue 1 standings in style.

Hutter’s Debrief

“First, I would like to congratulate the team for this well deserved victory. We controlled the game for 90 minutes. It was really a different scenario from our match in Clermont (2-4 victory), because we scored three goals today, but did not concede. So I’m very happy to bring back this clean sheet, and very satisfied overall with our performance,” he explained.

“As a coach, it’s always important to see progression in the game and obviously start with wins. I must say that the new recruits have really given satisfaction, bringing all their experience. I would like to say that I was also impressed by the atmosphere today at the Stade Louis II. There were more than 10,000 people to push us, and I think it was very important to get such a result.”

The Austrian tactician then added this on the quality debuts of Singo and Zakaria: “Regarding Wilfried and Denis, it was their first match with AS Monaco tonight. Wilfried played a fantastic game defensively and Denis also delivered a very good performance that everyone saw tonight, in a position that is not his. Guillermo was not 100% and the decision was made to start Denis in the centre. He had already had the opportunity to play in this position at Borussia Monchengladbach with me so we knew he could help out if necessary.”

Key Stats

By the numbers, the fact ASM held the ascendancy in terms of expected goals (0.79 to 0.50), total shots (9 to 4), shots on target (4 to 1), possession (56% to 44%), passes in the opposition half (216 to 136) and tackles won (18 to 5) underlined their dominance.

Nantes Awaits

Up next for Monaco is another challenging clash with Nantes, who will be fired up after losing their first two matches, where ASM will be looking to maintain their momentum to not only make it three straight but also to keep their spot atop the table.