Wilfried Sing’s solitary goal earned Monaco a narrow 1-0 Champions League win over Aston Villa on Tuesday night.
Unai Emery challenged his players to become “protagonists” this season Champions League. They struggled to fill a leading role at the Stade Louis-II this midweek, falling short of an early and deserved lead.
Emi Martinez did well to save Thilo Kehrer’s thunderous header from a corner in the eighth minute, but he was helpless when Singo swooped in to put the hosts in front.
The Premier League the visitors gradually slowly made their way back to the competition, which was suitably watched in the principality by Prince William, a loyal Villa fan. This royal affair proved to be the venue for Jhon Duran’s rare outings alongside Ollie Watkins.
Villa’s two forwards, who have already scored in double figures this season, rarely appear on the pitch together. Yet it was a bold approach that Emery turned to ten minutes into the second half as he desperately searched for a way back into this Premier League clash.
However, both Watkins and Duran struggled to make an impact against a Monaco side that increasingly wanted to relax and hit Villa on the counter, collecting only one hit each.
The defeat leaves Villa on 13 points from seven Champions League games – the same tally as their victorious hosts. It remains to be seen what position this tally will place them in by the end of this week’s penultimate round of the league stage, but both sides will still be in a big fight to finish in one of the top eight spots that guarantee automatic qualification to the round of 16.
*Ratings are provided by FotMob*
|
Player |
Evaluation |
|---|---|
|
GK: Radoslav Majecki |
8.8/10 |
|
RB: Vanderson |
7.7/10 |
|
CB: Wilfried Singo |
8.7/10 |
|
CB: Thilo Kehrer |
8.1/10 |
|
LB: Christian Mawissa |
7.1/10 |
|
CM: Denis Zakaria |
6.9/10 |
|
CM: Lamine Camara |
7.5/10 |
|
in the morning: Takumi Minamino |
7.2/10 |
|
RW: Maghnes Akliouche |
7.0/10 |
|
ST: Breel Embolo |
6.9/10 |
|
LW: Eliesse Ben Seghir |
6.9/10 |
|
UNDER: Aleksandr Golovin (65′ for Ben Seghir) |
6.6/10 |
|
UNDER: Soungoutou Magassa (65′ for Camaro) |
6.9/10 |
|
UNDER: Jordan Teze (78′ for Zakaria) |
6.1/10 |
|
UNDER: Lucas Michal (78′ for Minamino) |
6.0/10 |
Unused substitutes: Philipp Kohn (GK), Yann Lienard (GK), Caio Henrique, Kassoum Ouattara, Krepin Diatta, Mohammed Salisu, Edan Diop, Saimon Boubare
*Ratings are provided by FotMob*
|
Player |
Evaluation |
|---|---|
|
GK: Emma Martinez |
7.2/10 |
|
RB: Matty Cash |
7.8/10 |
|
CB: Ezri Konsa |
6.5/10 |
|
CB: Tyrone Mings |
6.9/10 |
|
LB: Lucas Digne |
7.0/10 |
|
CM: Boubacar Kamara |
6.9/10 |
|
CM: Your Tielemans |
6.9/10 |
|
in the morning: Morgan Rogers |
6.5/10 |
|
RW: Leon Bailey |
6.4/10 |
|
ST: Ollie Watkins |
5.8/10 |
|
LW: Emi Buendia |
6.1/10 |
|
UNDER: Jhon Duran (56′ for Bailey) |
5.6/10 |
|
UNDER: Ian Maatsen (67′ for Digne) |
6.3/10 |
|
UNDER: Lamar Bogarde (86′ for Buendia) |
ON |
|
UNDER: Jacob Ramsey (86′ for Rogers) |
ON |
Unused substitutes: Joa Gauci (GK), Robin Olsen (GK), Kosta Nedeljković, Sil Swinkels, Kadan Young
Player of the match – Radoslaw Majecki (Monaco)
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