Coupe de France, Round of 64, 07/01/24
AS Monaco advanced in the Coupe de France at the expense of RC Lens after an enthralling penalty shootout (2-2, 5-6 pens.), with Brice Samba’s heroics ultimately in vain.
There were no signs of lethargy as Monaco awakened from their winter hibernation with a lightning-fast goal. Florian Sotoca’s pass inside was picked up by Wissam Ben Yedder, whose snap shot beat Samba at the near-post.
Monaco continued to look dangerous in transition and it was another clumsy Sotoca ball that Les Monégasques pounced upon. It was once again Ben Yedder who won it, this time from Neil El Aynaoui, who had been played into danger by Sotoca. Youssouf Fofana played it around the corner for Kassoum Ouattara, whose pin-point ball to the back post was perfectly met by Maghnes Akliouche, who couldn’t miss from just a few yards out.
However, Lens, who had more difficulty awakening from their winter slumber, grew into the game as the half progressed. Elye Wahi should have done better from a Sotoca ball into the box and Przemyslaw Frankowski then tested his compatriot, Radoslaw Majecki, in the Monaco goal just seconds later.
Tie goes to penalties
Faitout Maoussa then halved Monaco’s lead, driving into the box and driving a deflected effort past Majecki. Moments later, Les Sang et Or demanded a penalty when Wahi was brought down in the box by Thilo Kehrer. The German international was perhaps lucky, and with VAR not in operation, there was no chance of a reprieve for Lens. The decision infuriated Franck Haise, who was sent off for his protests.
The half-time break did not hinder Lens’ momentum; Haise’s side were in the ascendancy. Majecki was quick out to deny Wahi from a ball in behind before Maoussa forced the Polish goalkeeper into a save with a well-hit effort across goal. Lens did get their goal, and it was Sotoca who redeemed himself, slotting a shot through Majecki’s legs.
Lens continued to knock at the door to avoid a penalty shoot-out and El Aynaoui went within inches of settling the tie but with the goal at his mercy, Guillermo Maripán made a crucial recovery. Seconds later, Ben Yedder had a chance of his own, but this time, Samba was down low to his near post to palm the effort around the post.
The tie therefore went to penalties. Majecki saved the first from Wesley Saïd and Ben Yedder converted to give Monaco the advantage. However, Les Sang et Or fought back with Samba making three saves in a row. But Lens couldn’t capitalise. Angelo Fulgini blasted over and Facundo Medina blasted over, meaning that it went to sudden death.
Majecki then stepped up again, saving Adrien Thomasson’s effort before Soungoutou Magassa took the winning penalty to send Monaco through.
Lens player ratings
Brice Samba – 8
At fault for Monaco’s opener, beaten by Ben Yedder at the near post but made a crucial late save from the French forward to take the game to penalties. The France international then almost became the hero, saving three consecutive penalties, but it wasn’t enough with his side failing to make the most of the lifelines that he afforded them.
Facundo Medina – 5
Kevin Danso – 5
Ruben Aguilar – 5
Faitout Maoussa – 5
Neil El Aynaoui – 6
Andy Diouf – 4
Przemyslaw Frankowski – 4
David Pereira Da Costa – 3
Florian Sotoca – 6
The Frenchman made errors on both of Monaco’s goals. His pass inside in the first minute was intercepted by Ben Yedder for the opener before his sloppy, over-weighted pass to El Aynaoui also allowed Ben Yedder to muscle in once again, instigate the vertical counter and double Les Monégasques’ advantage. Workmanlike and threatening throughout down the right, he continued to be a useful asset for his team and made up for his mistakes by netting the equaliser in the second half.
Elye Wahi – 3
He was too uninvolved once again and lacked his characteristic ruthlessness when handed a couple of decent chances. Wahi has yet to find his rhythm since his summer move from Montpellier.
Monaco player ratings
Radoslaw Majecki – 8
It was Majecki’s first appearance for Monaco this season and he certainly took his chance to make an impression. In normal time, he stepped up at key moments to make key saves (5) and also showed good anticipation to cut out balls in behind. He then made two crucial saves in the penalty shootout to help his side to a win. It is thanks to the Polish goalkeeper that Monaco will be in the hat for the next round.
Thilo Kehrer – 4
Not the most convincing debut from the West Ham loanee, who was lucky not to concede a penalty for a sloppy challenge into the back of Wahi. He was too easily bypassed in the first half in particular with Sotoca and Frankowski having a lot of fun down his side. He didn’t have long to acclimatise to his surroundings having only arrived on Friday, which is a major mitigating factor in what was a slightly below-par performance.
Guillermo Maripán – 5
Soungoutou Magassa – 6
The young Frenchman has been utilised more sparingly in recent weeks, but he put in a solid, error-free performance, before showing excellent character to step up and take the winning penalty.
Kassoum Ouattara – 6
Having arrived as a ‘joker’ earlier in the season, Ouattara has found game time limited. However, with Ismaïl Jakobs away at the AFCON, the France youth international now gets his chance to impress. He got an assist for Akliouche’s goal and was a general nuisance down the left with his runs around the back line. A promising start for the former SCO Angers full-back.
Denis Zakaria – 5
Youssouf Fofana – 6
Vanderson – 5
Maghnes Akliouche – 5
Wissam Ben Yedder – 6
He has rediscovered his ruthlessness in recent weeks and opened the scoring with a well-taken snapshot just seconds into the encounter and almost got the winner late on. His future at Monaco may be uncertain, but he continues to regularly make the difference for his side.
