A goal from Radamel Falcao just before half-time sent AS Monaco through to the final of the Coupe de la Ligue, which will be played at Parc OL on 1st April.
The match began in cagey fashion, with the Red & Whites pressing high but being kept at bay by Nancy’s compact shape, while Pablo Correa’s men looked to hit their opponents on the break. They threatened twice in succession through Issiar Dia, but Danijel Subasic was untroubled. Leonardo Jardim’s men were seeing much more of the ball, but chances were at a premium.
On the half-hour mark, Thomas Lemar drilled in a vicious cross-shot that was deflected behind for a corner by Ndy Assembé, before Radamel Falcao flashed an effort just wide after an excellent cross from Sidibé (35 mins). The Red & Whites upped the tempo towards the end of the first half, and Thomas Lemar did superbly to set up Kylian Mbappé, who showed all his pace to surge clear but was denied by Ndy-Assembé. The Nancy ‘keeper then rescued his side twice from a pair of stinging shots by Lemar, but committed a monumental blunder in time added-on at the end of first period, dropping the ball to Falcao who had the simplest of tasks to slot home.
Keen to stretch their lead, the Red & Whites came out of the blocks fast after the break, and Ndy Assembé had to produce a diving save to turn Sidibé’s fine curling effort behind for a corner (49 mins). But Nancy were not giving up, and came close to an equaliser when Muratori found Cetout at the far post, but he failed to find the target (53 mins). The Nancy striker had another sight of goal in the 59th minute, but scrambled the ball narrowly wide. At the end of the match, Lemar and Germain both had good openings (79 & 80 mins), but neither was able to kill the match off. Nancy sought to take advantage in the dying seconds, but Robic saw his volley sail over the bar (81 mins). The game ended 1-0 to AS Monaco, and the Red & Whites will contest the second Coupe de la Ligue final in the club’s history, where they will meet PSG, six years after the Coupe de France final between the two sides. But ahead of that showdown at the Parc OL, there’s the small matter of next Sunday’s Ligue 1 clash at the Parc des Princes…
Source of text and photos: www.asmonaco.com
