Craig Carter was watching Montpellier 2 – 0 Bordeaux, with a particular eye on les Girondins’ Yann Karamoh.

It was the battle of two sides protecting undefeated streaks in Ligue 1 Round 10 on Sunday, as Montpellier welcomed Bordeaux to the sunshine of the Stade de la Mosson. The hosts had not tasted defeat since the opening day. Girondins arrived off the back of the defeat of Nantes, and hadn’t been reversed in their last five. So, where was the game won and lost?

In short, in the differing approaches of the two teams. Montpellier lined up in a 5-3-2 and took a grasp on the game from the outset. Sambia, who carried the ball with purpose throughout, had a penalty claim dismissed by VAR on 9 minutes, as they probed angles of attack.

Bordeaux were set in their favoured 4-3-3, but struggled to get wide men Yann Karamoh, and the usually influential Francois Kamano into the action. Both have scored goals in recent weeks, but could not get on the ball, and would often narrow the shape in attempt to cut Montpellier’s passing play, whilst giving support to striker Jimmy Briand.

Karamoh, who has played for every level of France youth to U21 but is also of Ivorian descent, is undoubtedly a rough talent with an abundance of pace. He is at Bordeaux on loan from Inter Milan (from where he was already on loan from Caen), and loans are intended as learning experiences for young players, right?

However, coach Eric Bedouet must define his role in the team. It appeared unclear throughout the match whether he was deployed a winger or a striker, and he would drift in and out of Briand’s forward space and central spots frequently, taking his lead from the others in the forward line. This is evident from Karamoh’s touches in the game (just 51 in total).

Montpellier successfully exploited this on several occasions, effectively utilising the width given to them by their fullbacks whenever Bordeaux squeezed the centre of the field. On 12 minutes, right wingback Ruben Aguilar advanced well before looping in a cross met by Paul Lasne. The left wingback hitting the box, but misfiring his volley.

That should have been taken as the warning for Bordeaux to match runners, and would eventually lead to the opening goal. The more experienced Lasne was outthinking Karamoh with his positioning. He’d press high and aggressively, and Karamoh did not track back. On 17 minutes, Lasne was left in too much space to go at Palencia. His cross caused panic, and was mishandled by Costil before Gaetan Laborde crashed a header into the net.

1-0.

Play would open up more, after that goal settled the home side. Bordeaux, now chasing the game, pushed the ball long with limited success. Briand had a soft penalty claim of his own as he tried to gather the ball in the right channel on 39 minutes. Moments later, Laborde sought out his second. He took a touch and turned on the edge of the area, only to see his low effort tipped brilliantly onto the post.

Congre had the final chance of a first half dominated by the home team. He headed over Delort’s freekick and half time considerations were upon us.

HT: Montpellier 1-0 Girondins de Bordeaux.

Bordeaux hadn’t threatened the goal in the first half, and despite a bright restart, handed the initiative to Montpellier, literally.

On 50 minutes, the ball was flighted in behind the visitor’s defence, and Pablo blocked Delort’s hooked pullback with a raised arm. Penalty.

After a VAR delay, it was then maker-taker as Delort dispatched the spot kick comfortably to put La Pallaide in full control at 2-0.

We would later see flashes of what Yann Karamoh can produce, but no more than that. It was, in truth, a frustrating afternoon for the 20 year old, strung with ill-discipline in both a physical and tactical sense. He was frozen out by the stubborn defence of Montpellier for the most part, as the statistics suggest.

Dropping into central midfield areas did not suit his desire to run, and having him in a wider match up may have helped the team control Montpellier’s ball movement better. As the heat map comparison shows, between Karamoh and Kamano in blue, and direct opponents Lasne and Aguilar in orange, there’s was no noticeable attempt to impede their progress.

On 57 minutes, he latched onto a through ball with clever movement, but miscontrolled his shot and put it over Lecomte’s bar. Minutes later roles reversed and he linked up with Kamano to put Briand in. The shot tugged wide.

A theme through this one was Karamoh’s eagerness to please, but he must ensure this is well thought out. The introduction of substitutes helped, although late. Plasil brought a calming influence to a continually stretched midfield, and Samuel Kalu, at 21, livened the attacking options when he came on, emulating Karamoh’s exuberance, even in vein.

All told though, this was a difficult task for Bordeaux, who let the game escape them too quickly. The absence of striker Andreas Cornelius meant the front line lacked a focal point. A forward who could hold the ball up would have certainly allowed the talents of Karamoh and Kamano to support the attack more, and brought Bordeaux up the pitch as a consistent out ball.

For Karamoh, as the focus of this piece, he must work hard to learn a position, particularly in matches like this, away from home, where the teams are very even in strengths and weaknesses and there is high tactical demand for team togetherness. He will be more valuable at this time if he is instilled with minimal, but meaningful instruction. Only then will we see the best of him, for the good of Ligue 1, and the good of Inter, should he return to Italy.

Too many times in this game he looked as if he was trying to do too much. He couldn’t be pinned down and the occasion passed him by. There’ll be more to come, and patience is a virtue.

Credit goes to the hosts, who extend their run to 9 games, seeing the game out professionally in a quiet end to events. European places will be keenly contested this season, and they showed their credentials. 2-0 at the final whistle.

Teams

Montpellier: Lecomte, Aguilar, Congre, Hilton, Mendes, Lasne, Sambia, Le Tallec, Skhiri (Piriz 74”), Delort (Skuletic 79”), Laborde (Ammour 89”)

Bordeaux: Costil, Sabaly (Basic 74”), Pablo, Kounde, Palencia, Sankhare, Lerager (Plasil 62”), Otavio, Kamano, Karamoh, Briand (Kalu 62”)

In-Report Stats and Graphics Presented by WhoScored.com and Flashscores.co.uk. Video Courtesy of YouTube.