AS Monaco celebrate a return to the Champions League against Nantes!

Into the match from the first half hour of play, the Rouge et Blanc did not give any margin against Les Canaris to comfortably win in the Principality (4-0). It's a result which completes an incredible season, synonymous with a return to the Champions League.

A victory that marks celebration! To give a festive end to their season, the AS Monaco players went for one last win against Nantes in front of their home fans at the Stade Louis-II (4-0), under the eyes of H.S.H. Prince Albert II and of President Dmitry Rybolovlev. ✍️

The context 📅

Already assured of finishing second behind Paris Saint-Germain thanks to last week’s win in Montpellier (0-2), the Rouge et Blanc did not want to only make up the numbers against an already safe FC Nantes. The objective waas therefore simple: to celebrate a big return to the Champions League and the 30-year anniversary of the Ultras at the Stade Louis-II with a positive result!

You can imagine that there is a lot of satisfaction with the end to the season. We are guaranteed to finish second and return to the Champions League next year. But there is still one match that we want to win against Nantes, and we can celebrate properly afterwards.

The eleven 👥

Quite logically given the stakes, coach Adi Hütter decided to carry out a broad review of the squad, and to include three talents from the Academy: Soungoutou Magassa, Mamadou Coulibaly and Eliesse Ben Seghir. We also note that Caio Henrique made his comeback in the starting lineup, eight months almost to the day after the Derby.

The scenario 🎞

The kick-off is given in an atmosphere of great evenings, to the rhythm of songs by the Ultras Monaco 1994,who are celebrating their 30th anniversary, in the company of all the groups and branches of AS Monaco supporters. And the faithful support of the Principality club would not be long in having something to cheer, since from the start Krépin Diatta set up Wissam Ben Yedder who slotted his shot under the bar (1-0, 6)!

A lightning-fast second!

It was a real event since the Monegasque captain, who had made his 200th appearance in Montpellier, and scored his 118th goal in La Diagonale. There was barely time for the Rouge et Blanc to celebrate when Caio Henrique scored his fifth assist of the season with a free kick for the head of Thilo Kehrer (2-0, 10′)! It was a first Monegasque goal for a player who has just made a definitive commitment to the Club until 2028.

Mo’ Camara joins the show

This first half hour was crazy, and it would turn upside down again when Eliesse Ben Seghir earned a penalty, which… Mohamed Camara would convert (3-0, 24′) ! This was also a first for our Malian midfielder, in front of a lively Tribune Pesages. Another Mohammed, Salisu this time, then cleared the ball off his line in front of Marcus Coco (26′), before Folarin Balogun missed what would have been a killer blow by hitting Lafont’s post (27′).

Eliesse “joyau” Ben Seghir makes it four!

The rhythm then logically dropped until the break. The recovery was also timid, before Caio Henrique’s 60-meter lobbed attempt (53′). But it was ultimately Eliesse Ben Seghir who finally roused the Stade Louis-with a fine bit of skill and finish into the bottom corner (4-0, 61′)! It was the sixth goal with AS Monaco for the little prodigy from the Academy.

The Academy takes centre stage with a debut for Michal!

The two coaches then take the opportunity to make numerous change. It was an opportunity for Adi Hütter to offer Saïmon Bouabré (who had come on at the break) and Lucas Michal their first minutes of professional play. The latter even came close to scoring his first goal, but was ultimately flagged offside (91′).

It was game over, AS Monaco had outclassed Nantes and celebrated its return to the Champions League in the best possible way (4-0). DAGHE MUNEGU! 🇲🇨

Key moments 🎥

6′: An overflow by Diatta who found Ben Yedder perfectly at the near post (1-0)
10′: A free kick by Caio Henrique finds Kehrer who scores with a header (2-0)
15′: A direct free kick by Traoré is captured by Majecki
24′: Penalty won by Ben Seghir and converted by Camara (3-0)
26′: A clearance by from Salisu off his line from a strike by Coco
27′: A shot across goal by Balogun which comes off Lafont’s post
53′: An attempted lob by Caio Henrique from over 60 meters is captured by Lafont
61′: A fine bit of skill by Ben Seghir sees him find the back of the net (4-0)
89′: Bamba’s free kick is completely off target

The stat 📊

AS Monaco finished on the Ligue 1 podium for the 30th time (8 times champion, 8 times runners-up, 14 times third)! This is more than any other team in the history of the French top flight.

📋 Match details:

Sunday, May 19 – Stade Louis-II

Ligue 1 – Matchday 34: AS Monaco 4-0 FC Nantes

Halftime: 3-0