Just three days after battling and defeating FC Barcelona in the Champions League (2-1, 1st day), AS Monaco followed up with another success this Sunday. Hosting Le Havre, for the fifth round of the championship, the club from the Rock upheld its status as favourite, even if the fight was complicated for more than an hour (3-1).
Everything started well for the Monegasques since they were the ones who took the lead thanks to Teze’s opening goal (1-0, 9th). But on the other side, the well-organized Le Havre team were able to take advantage of one of their only two chances in the first half, with Kuzyaev equalizing after half an hour (1-1, 30th). Enough to allow the two teams to go into the locker room with the score tied.
Candidate for the title?
The Normans were willing and thought they had doubled their lead just after the break, but Casimir was flagged for offside (47th). The visitors’ luck had passed and on the hour mark, the locals moved up a gear, with a goal from Ben Seghir (2-1, 66th), quickly followed by a third, scored by Balogun (3-1, 70th). On his bench, Digard then decided to change five players in seven minutes, but it was no use for the Le Havre coach.
Logically winning the match, the Monegasques have recorded their fourth success in five Ligue 1 matches since the start of the season. Hutter’s men confirm that they are candidates for the title, they are tied on points with PSG, still leader on goal difference. It remains to be seen whether ASM will last the distance. For its part, HAC is provisionally twelfth, with three points ahead of the red zone.
