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Stats 12 January 2022, 16:49

Diop and Tchouameni in SofaScore's U-21 Team of the Month!

Diop and Tchouameni in SofaScore's U-21 Team of the Month!
The two French international Monegasque midfielders (U-21s and senior), are part of the Under 21 Team of the Month, as selected by the statistics website Sofascore in December.

They are still on the rise! One of the is now part of the France U-21 team and AS Monaco’s second-best scorer in Ligue 1 (five goals, level with Kevin Volland), and the other was recently a winner of the Nations League with Les Bleus, in addition to being a key part of the eleven of the Rouge et Blanc. Sofiane Diop and Aurélien Tchouameni have taken on a whole new dimension over the past year and a half, the latter even recently being named the best midfielder in terms of ball recovery in 2021 by Sofascore.

Three wins from four in Ligue 1 and a pair of qualifications

Symbols of a brilliant, talented and ambitious set of Monegasque youngsters, the Principality’s two midfielders were also rewarded for their performances in December. The Croatian statistics website has recently named the two “young guns” in its U21 Team of the Month.

Winners of three of their four Ligue 1 matches  (Angers, Metz and Rennes), including their first against a member of the top 5 this season, and moving on to the next round in the Europa League (in first place in the group) as well as in the Coupe de France, the two teammates thus take their places in a fine team of emerging talents.

An impressive U-21 eleven

The site picked a 4-2-3-1 formation including Fiorentina center forward Dūsan Vlahović, Strahinja Pavlović’s compatriot with Serbia, Arsenal’s Brazilian winger Gabriel Martinelli and Wolverhampton fullback Rayan Aït-Nouri.

Scorer of two goals and having added two assists in the league in December, Sofiane Diop was decisive in the opposing box. This is also true for Aurélien Tchouameni in the heart of midfield, as he made the most interceptions (139) and the most tackles (185) in the world last year.

Strong form which continues in 2022

This strong form was again on display against Nantes this weekend. Even if the Rouge et Blanc did not manage to bring back all three points to the Principality, our number 37 proved to be the most dangerous, especially on a powerful, low strike at the very start of the match (5′). For his part, the evening’s captain finished the match with a personal record for number of touches (143), completing 89% of his passes, and making nine ball recoveries, three interceptions and two tackles — a masterclass! Bravo to both of them!

SofaScore’s December U-21 Team of the Month: 

Stefan Bajić (Saint-Etienne) – Tjago Djaló (Lille), Chris Richards (Hoffenheim), Josko Gvardiol (Leipzig), Rayan Aït-Nouri (Wolverhampton) – Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace), Aurélien Tchouameni (AS Monaco) – Sofiane Diop (AS Monaco), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) – Dūsan Vlahović (Fiorentina)

Rise. Risk. Repeat.