AS Monaco – LOSC: The Sequel Is Rarely As Good As The Original (0-0)

AS Monaco and LOSC failed to live up to their last meeting which ended in a thrilling 4-3 victory for Lille. The two sides looked to solidify their grip on European football next year with a stalemate that suited neither side but more importantly, did not damage their positions.  
Tactical analysis and match report by Nick Hartland.

There was a lot of hope for this game to be an entertaining sequel to their previous match, especially since a victory for Lille would put pressure on a Monaco side that looked far from confident in recent weeks. However, what sealed the fate of this game was Rennes’ victory earlier in the day, meaning that Lille dropped from fifth to sixth before the match began, and if they did not gain at least one point against Monaco they would finish the weekend outside of the European positions. 

Monaco was without Wissam Ben Yedder, Kevin Volland, and Krépin Diatta as Philippe Clement made one change to the team that beat Angers the week before. Monaco lined up in a 3-4-2-1 formation which saw Alexander Nübel in goal behind the back three of Caio Henrique, Chrislain Matsima, and Axel Disasi. Ismail Jakobs came in for Diatta at wing-back alongside Vanderson. In midfield, Youssouf Fofana partnered with Eliot Matazo. Up front, Aleksandr Golovin and Takumi Minamino played behind Myron Boadu as the number nine.

Lille manager Paulo Fonseca rarely changes from his 4-2-3-1 shape and today was no different. Lucas Chevalier was in goal, alongside Ismaily, Alexsandro, José Fonte, and Bafodé Diakité. Angel Gomes and Benjamin André were picked as the defensive midfield. On either side of R . . .