AS Monaco's youngsters top Brentford's reserves in a friendly
It was under a shining sun that the players of Philippe Clement welcomed the reserve side of Brentford, currently 14th in the Premier League on Wednesday morning at La Turbie to take part in a friendly match. It was also an opportunity for the Belgian manager to give playing time to many youngsters from the Academy. Led by Youssouf Fofana, captain of the Rouge et Blanc at kick-off, Ruben Aguilar, Cesc Fàbregas, Aleksandr Golovin and Kevin Volland, the AS Monaco players won at the end of a disputed match (2-1 ).
Une frappe magnifique de Maghnes Akliouche
At kick-off, the central defensive partnership of Chrislain Matsima and Yllan Okou was a pairing 100% from the Monegasque academy, reinforcing a starting lineup in which Maghnes Akliouche also appeared on the right wing. It was also the attacking midfielder trained at the Academy, who signed his first professional contract two weeks ago, who opened the scoring with a beautiful shot curled under the English side’s crossbar (1-0 , 35′). Full of effort, however, the British side drew level just before half-time (1-1, 43′).
AS Monaco is pleased to announce the signing of three new professional contracts 👀✍🏼
𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗲 . 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 . 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗮𝘁 .
🇲🇨 #MadeInLaDiagonalepic.twitter.com/VKDldREmeo
— AS Monaco EN (@AS_Monaco_EN) February 9, 2022
Six players from the reserves come off the bench
Returning from the break, the Monegasque coach rotated his team. There were opportunities for Félix Lemarechal, Soungoutou Magassa and Tiago Ribeiro, all of whom have already appeared with the first team in Ligue 1 or the Coupe de France, to show their qualities. But there were also minutes for Jordan Semedo, who came on at half-time, Louis Torres and Eric Ayiah, to play for the first time in a match with the first team. The reserves’ striker even distinguished himself by scoring the winning goal after a fine counter-attack initiated by Yllan Okou… on his first touch (2-1, 77′)!
Two famous fans
AS Monaco’s winning margin could have been even greater if the crossbar and the right post of the English goalkeeper had not kept out attempts by Youssouf Fofana (34′) and Aleksandr Golovin (38′). Watched by Rudy Rinaldi and Boris Vain, who came sixth in the two-man bobsled event at the Beijing Olympics – the Principality’s best result at the Olympics – the club’s youngsters showed great things, the match serving as a fine appetizer before a visit from Reims this weekend at the Stade Louis-II in Ligue 1.
Match details:
Friendly match: AS Monaco 2-1 Brentford B
Halftime: 1-1
Goals: Akliouche (35′) and Ayiah (77′) for AS Monaco; Young-Coombes (43′) for Brentford
AS Monaco : Majecki – Aguilar, Matsima, Okou, Jakobs (Torres, 58′) – Matazo, Fofana © (Lemarechal, 58′) – Akliouche (Tiago Ribeiro, 83′), Fàbregas (Magassa, 76′), Golovin (Semedo, 46′) – Volland (Ayiah, 76′)
Substitutes: Liénard, El Maach, Semedo, Torres, Bamba, Lemarechal, Magassa, Tiago Ribeiro, Ayiah
Manager: Philippe Clement
Brentford B : Rees (Winterbottom, 65′) – Oyegoke (Adedokun, 82′), Hockenhull (Crama, 82′), Jones, Gordon – Oksanen, Jefferies © (Hercules, 85′), Maghoma, Trevitt (Syla, 75′) – Gilbert, Young-Coombes
Substitutes: Winterbottom, Crama, Russel, Adedokun, Syla, Hercules
Manager : Neil Macfarlane
