French Cup 05 February 2026, 23:48

AS Monaco’s Coupe de France journey ends in Strasbourg without reward

Despite several opportunities, including hitting the woodwork twice, the Red and Whites had to give way to Strasbourg’s clinical finishing in the Coupe de France round-of-16.

Up against Strasbourg in the round-of-16 of the Coupe de France, AS Monaco’s players created opportunities but were ultimately were defeated (3-1). The match was played under the eyes of President Dmitry Rybolovlev, who was present at the Stade de la Meinau. Match report. ✍️

The context 📅

After a successful final week (qualification for the Champions League playoffs and a 4-0 victory over Rennes), the Red and Whites now sought to progress past the round-of-16 in the Coupe de France. But facing a Strasbourg side that has suffered only one defeat in their last nine matches, there was no doubt they needed to deliver a great performance, as Sébastien Pocognoli emphasised before the match.

It's a cup match, so it will have a different feel because there could be a penalty shootout after 90 minutes. We'll need to be solid, play as a team, have great cohesion, and the same tactical discipline as in recent matches. From there, we can start to see qualification, but, as I said after the Rennes game, we can't afford to lower our expectations even by 1%.

Sébastien PocognoliRegarding the mindset to have

The lineup 👥

For this round-of-16 match, the Monaco coach continues with his 3-4-2-1 formation, with Mika Biereth returning to lead the attack. Maghnes Akliouche, who was on the bench at the start against Rennes, returns to the starting XI behind the striker, along with Vanderson and Caio Henrique as wing-backs. Denis Zakaria starts once again in central defence alongside Thilo Kehrer and Jordan Teze

The match report 🎞

Right from the kickoff, the AS Monaco players were in Strasbourg’s half and created their first chance through Maghnes Akliouche, whose shot was blocked by Mike Penders (2′). Unfortunately, against the run of play, Strasbourg opened the scoring with a header from Martial Godo (1-0, 7′). Shortly after, the hosts came close to doubling the lead, but Joaquin Panichelli’s follow-up went wide (9′).

Ouverture du score adverse.

7' | 1️⃣-0️⃣ #RCSAASM

— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) February 5, 2026

Chances at both ends

The match was incredibly stop-start, and it wasn’t until the half-hour mark that Denis Zakaria attempted a right-footed shot (30′). This was stopped by the Racing goalkeeper, as was a powerful strike from Monaco’s number 11 (36′). Strasbourg responded late in the first half through Abdoul Ouattara (40′) and the Argentine striker (45′), but both efforts were denied by Philipp Köhn.

An end-to-end match

“Eager to see his team turn things around, Sébastien Pocognoli made two changes for the second half, bringing on Krépin Diatta and Simon Adingra, who made his debut in red and white. The game then became completely open, and Racing scored a second goal through Julio Enciso (2-0, 55′). Monaco’s response was immediate, with Mika Biereth halving the deficit (2-1, 58′). However, there was no time to savour the striker, as the Paraguayan completed a quick brace (3-1, 61′).

AS Monaco hits the woodwork twice

Despite the third goal, the Red and Whites did not give up, and Akliouche’s curled effort grazed the top corner (67′). The Belgian coach then took the opportunity to make two substitutions, bringing on Stanis Idumbo and Folarin Balogun (73′). Balogun made an impact with one of his first touches, but his header hit the crossbar (82′). The new Monaco recruit also endured some bad luck, striking the post late on (92′).

Time for the Derby to bounce back

That was the final chance of this Coupe de France round-of-16 clash, which unfortunately meant elimination for AS Monaco. Attention now turns to the Côte d’Azur Derby, on Sunday (15:00) at the Allianz Riviera, where the team will look to bounce back and push for a second consecutive league victory.

Fin du match.

‣ #RCSAASM pic.twitter.com/yZWsWyQkrs

— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) February 5, 2026

The highlights 🎥

2′: Akliouche’s shot pushed away with a punch by Penders
7′: Godo heads in after a Panichelli layoff (1-0)
9′: Panichelli’s follow-up from the penalty spot goes wide
30′: Zakaria’s shot from a tight angle blocked by Penders
36′: Akliouche’s powerful strike again pushed away by Penders
40′: Köhn dives to stop Ouattara’s low attempt
45′: Köhn makes another save from Panichelli’s quick shot
55′: Enciso doubles the lead after beating Köhn (2-0)
58′: Biereth pulls one back with a cross-shot (2-1)
61′: Enciso completes a brace with a chipped finish (3-1)
67′: Akliouche curls a shot narrowly over the top corner
82′: Balogun’s header hits the crossbar
92′: Adingra also strikes the post with a right-footed shot

🗓️ The match sheet:

Thursday, 5th February 2026 (21:00) – Stade de la Meinau

Coupe de France – Round-of-16: RC Strasbourg 3-1 AS Monaco

Half time: 1-0

Goals: Godo (7′), Enciso (55′), (61′) for Strasbourg; Biereth (58′) for AS Monaco

Yellow cards: Biereth (11′), Vanderson (22′), Zakaria (27′), Golovin (40′) for AS Monaco

RC Strasbourg: Penders, Doué, Högsberg, Doukouré ©, Ouattara (Chilwell, 69′) – Barco, El-Mourabet – Moreira (Omobamidele, 77′), Enciso (Yassine, 85′), Godo (Amo-Ameyaw, 77′) – Panichelli (Fofana, 85′)

Substitutes: Johnson, Omobamidele, Amougou, Luis, Mwanga, Chilwell, Amo-Ameyaw, Fofana, Yassine

Coach: Gary O’Neil

AS Monaco : Köhn – Teze (Idumbo, 73′), Zakaria ©, Kehrer – Vanderson, Camara, Coulibaly (Bamba, 84′), C. Henrique (Diatta, 46′) – Golovin (Adingra, 46′), Akliouche – Biereth (Balogun, 73′)

Substitutes: Lienard, Nibombé, Diatta, Bamba, Touré, Idumbo, Adingra, Balogun, Brunner

Coach: Sébastien Pocognoli