A spirited AS Monaco eventually fall to Marseille

It was a solid performance but one that was unrewarded. At the end of a high-level clash against Olympique de Marseille, the Rouge et Blanc ultimately fell in the big match of Matchday 16 of Ligue 1 McDonald’s, in a game marked by a goal unjustly disallowed. A duel that took place under the eyes of President Dmitry Rybolovlev, who was present at the Stade Vélodrome . Recap ✍️

Le context 📅

The Rouge et Blanc faced a major challenge when making this short trip to Marseille: to string together a series of wins in Ligue 1 and thus catch up with the leading trio. To do this, they absolutely must get a result against Marseille, who were third in the standings before the weekend and had been undefeated at home in the league (5 wins, 2 draws). But above all, they need to build on the victory they achieved… in the Champions League against Galatasaray (1-0).

The XI 👥

At the kick-off of this clash for regional supremacy, Sébastien Pocognoli opted for stability in his starting eleven, using the same system and lineup as against the Istanbul club. The Camara-Zakaria duo was therefore retained in midfield, while Folarin Balogun started up front, supported by a trio of attacking midfielders.

The scenario 🎞

This duel starts off with a bang in a packed Vélodrome, filled with 300 Monaco supporters in the away end. And the first chances fell to the Olympians, but Lukáš Hradecký kept out a strong effort by Greenwood (4′) and a tentative lob by Aubameyang (6′), before seeing Murillo’s shot go wide of the goal. (6′). The response came from Aleksandr Golovin, whose quickfire shot drifted slightly to the left (7′).

Marseille push but can’t capitalize

The day after being called up by Senegal for the Africa Cup of Nations alongside Krépin Diatta, Lamine Camara attempted an acrobatic shot, but without success (14′). Marseille dominated possession and created the best chances, even though Greenwood lacked precision (15′, 26′) and Weah was denied by our’ goalkeeper (20′). But it was ultimately Golo’ who came closest to opening the scoring after a superb pass from Maghnes Akliouche (29′).

The Rouge et Blanc go on the attack, but lack precision

The last quarter of an hour of the first half was dominated by our Rouge et Blanc despite an attempt by Palmieri (44′), with a beautiful volley by Takumi Minamino (42′), a point-blank shot by Folarin Balogun (43′) and a curling effort by Golovin (45′), all saved by Rulli. The same pattern continued at the start of the second half, with the Japanese player nearly opening the scoring after a misplaced pass from the American (46′).

Camara’s goal is flagged off unjustly

The temperature rose another notch when Lamine Camara thought he’d finally broken the deadlock, but his superb half-volley was disallowed for a very dubious offside (51′)! Moments later, OM missed a golden opportunity, thanks to a crucial clearance by Thilo Kehrer (56′). This was followed by tentaitive efforts by Weah (66′), Vermeeren (66′) and O’Riley (72e) but especially on the powerful curling shot (68′) and a low drive (71′) by Greenwood.

Le but refusé de Lamine Camara pic.twitter.com/FsnVC1MfES

— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) December 15, 2025

A terrible twist of fate

The latter was indeed well blocked by the last Monegasque defender, who had already been decisive against Weah (69′), once again. AS Monaco were struggling, but they organized a counter-attack with a one-on-one situation that Rulli won against Minamino (74′). Then came a goal that Balogun thought he had scored with a subtle chip, but it was unfortunately disallowed for offside (80′). This time it was real, much to the dismay of the Monegasque players, who could then do nothing against another attack by Greenwood (1-0, 82′).

A look towards the Coupe de France

Sébastien Pocognoli’s men refused to give up and even came close to equalizing with a header from Thilo Kehrer (87′), and then a double chance from the substitutes Ilenikhena and Biereth (90′), but Rulli again made a crucial save. It was all over; the Rouge et Blanc lost 1-0, but not without putting up a good fight. They will now have to fight one last battle in 2025, in the Coupe de France on Sunday in Auxerre (14:45).

Les Monégasques s'inclinent à Marseille.

1️⃣-0⃣ #OMASM pic.twitter.com/B0vHJy65GM

— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) December 14, 2025

Key moments 🎥

4′: Greenwood’s powerful effort across goal is deflected by Hradecký
6′: Palmieri crosses to Aubameyang, whose lob is deflected by Hradecký
6′: Murillo’s curling shot from a corner goes wide
7′: Golovin’s quick shot goes wide to the left of the goal
14′: Camara’s acrobatic overhead kick attempt is off target
15′: Greenwood’s shot is off target
20′: Weah’s curling shot is caught by Hradecký
26′: Greenwood’s cross-shot goes wide
29′: Akliouche makes a sublime pass to Golovin, who is denied by Rulli
42′: Akliouche crosses for Minamino but his volley is caught
43′: Golovin passes bcak to Balogun, but his shot is saved by Rulli
44′ : Palmieri’s long-range shot is stopped by Hradecký
45′: Golovin’s curling shot is caught by a diving Rulli
46′: Balogun’s cuts the ball back to Minamino, but his shot goes wide
47′: Vanderson’s low shot is off target
51′: Camara’s winning half-volley is disallowed for offside
56′: Greenwood’s cutback finds O’Riley, but he is denied by Kehrer
68′: Greenwood’s powerful curling shot goes just wide
69′: Hradecký saves a shot from Weah
71′: Greenwood’s low shot is blocked by Hradecký
72′: O’Riley’s half-volley goes wide
74′: Minamino loses his one-on-one with Rulli
80′: Balogun scores, but the goal is ultimately ruled offside
82′: Højbjerg’s picks out Greenwood, who scores (1-0)
87′: Kehrer’s header is deflected by Rulli
90′: Ilenikhena’s shot is parried by Rulli to Biereth

🗓️ Match details:

Sunday December 14 2025 (20:45) – Stade Vélodrome

Ligue 1 McDonald’s – Matchday 16: Olympique de Marseille 1-0 AS Monaco

Halftime: 0-0

Goals: Greenwood (82′) for Marseille

Bookings: Kondogbia (40′) for Marseille; Vanderson (64′) for AS Monaco

Olympique de Marseille: Rulli – Murillo (Paixao, 58′), Pavard (Balerdi, 58′), Aguerd, Palmieri – Vermeeren (Nadir, 81′), Höjbjerg ©, Kondogbia (O’Riley, 46]) – Greenwood, Aubameyang (Bakola, 86′), Weah

Substitutes: De Lange, Balerdi, Egan-Riley, Bakola, Gomes, Nadir, O’riley, Paixao, Vaz

Manager: Roberto De Zerbi

AS Monaco : Hradecký – Vanderson, Kehrer, Salisu, C.Henrique – Camara, Zakaria © – Akliouche, Minamino (Biereth, 86′), Golovin (Teze, 73′) – Balogun (Ilenikhena, 86′)

Substitutes: Köhn, Dier, Mawissa, Ouattara, Teze, Coulibaly, Idumbo, Biereth, Ilenikhena

Manager: Sébastien Pocognoli