Big 5, Ansu Fati, ratios… The (very) good stats of AS Monaco's bench
Modern football isn’t played with 11 players… but with 16! Since the introduction of the five-substitute rule, a match is decided as much by the starting eleven as by the impact of the substitutes. This is an observation that hasn’t escaped AS Monaco manager Sébastien Pocognoli , based on statistics that place the club from the Principality among the top European clubs for the performance of its “super subs,” Let’s take a closer look with data from our provider, Opta. 📊
In Europe’s Top Two (All Competitions) 🇪🇺
While Monaco are indeed in a (very) good position among European teams that have scored the most goals thanks to their substitutes, with 18 goals in all competitions, just behind PSG (20), in all competitions, it is even more true than in the league as the club from the Principality sits atop the European Big 5 alongside Bayern Munich.
Joint leaders of the Big 5 in the league! 🥇
With 14 goals scored by substitutes, AS Monaco is the team that makes the biggest difference thanks to its bench. No less than 37% of these goals come from the Côte d’Azur’s “super subs,” eight of whom have already found the net in Ligue 1 McDonald’s – the second-highest total after the German champions (9). But further proof that substitutions often have an impact: Monaco’s substitutes have scored at least once in 10 matches.
Ansu Fati, the gamebreaker 🎯
Only Celta Vigo, another club very well placed in the European hierarchy, has done better (11 matches). And if there is one player who stands out when he steps onto the pitch during a match, it is Ansu Fati. Scorer of the winner away to RC Lens last Saturday (2-3), the Spanish winger scored his fifth goal of the season off the bench, out of his eight goals in the top flight in total!
𝐁𝐢𝐣𝐨𝐮 ✨⁰⁰𝐀𝐧𝐬𝐮 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐢 finit avec précision 🎯
3️⃣-2️⃣ #RCLASM pic.twitter.com/JqQCo32FTk
— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) February 23, 2026
Almost on par with a World Cup winner 🤝
Quite simply, only Antoine Griezmann has a better record with Atlético Madrid (6) in Europe’s top five leagues, according to Opta. And if we add to that his first Champions League goal in Rouge et Blanc against Bruges, the number 31 has now scored six goals in this way since arriving in the Principality. Proof that he is indeed one of the most decisive players on the continent when he comes on as a substitute.
Second best ratio in Europe ⌚
Indeed, it took him only 38 seconds on September 21st against FC Metz in his debut at the Stade Louis-II, to demonstrate his clinical finishing, he remains the fastest substitute-scorer in the top flight this season. And if we look at his time-on-the-pitch ratio, the figures are even more impressive. With a goal every 72 minutes in the league, he is only surpassed by… Harry Kane (28 goals – 1 goal every 66 minutes) in the Big 5 leagues!
𝟯𝟳 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝘀 ⚡
C’est ce qu’il a fallu à Ansu Fati pour marquer son premier but en @Ligue1 😍
5️⃣-2️⃣ #ASMFCM pic.twitter.com/JBFISMDDLL
— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) September 22, 2025
It was a remarkable performance for the symbol of this AS Monaco, which proves how crucial it is to have an impactful bench to be able to change the face of a match, as he had at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis last weekend.
