Dominated in the second leg, the Elite Group knocks out Chelsea on penalties!
Narrowly beaten, but through to the next round! Two weeks after their win at the Performance Centre against Chelsea’s U-21s (3-2), the young players of the AS Monaco Elite Group lost by the narrowest of margins in the return leg in England (2-1). It was a defeat swept away by the penalty shootout which ended this double legged tie, at the end of which the Rouge et Blanc progressed.
Le Groupe Elite s'impose face à la réserve de Chelsea dans une double confrontation amicale 👏
𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 – 𝟏𝟗/𝟎𝟒/𝟐𝟑 :
AS Monaco 3-2 Chelsea𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫 – 𝟎𝟐/𝟎𝟓/𝟐𝟑 :
Chelsea 2-1 AS Monaco (victoire aux TAB)🇲🇨 #MadeInLaDiagonale pic.twitter.com/9YG0AHPF9w
— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) May 2, 2023
A good start thwarted by the Londoners
Largely dominating in the first half of the first leg, captain Jordan Semedo’s teammates struggled at the start of the return leg. A first set piece from the Blues fortunately did not worry Yann Lienard (3′). On the other hand, the Monegasque goalkeeper was forced to concede a quarter of an hour into the game, when a cross from the British side was nodded in at the far post (1-0, 15′).
Yacoub’s immediate response
Not beaten, far from it, the young talents of the Academy responded quickly, as they had two weeks ago, and equalized in stride through Béchir Yacoub, well found by Mamadou Coulibaly (1-1, 19′). Originally, it was Jules Béry, who assisted in the first leg, who started the play. There followed a few opportunities without great danger, until a loss of ball in midfield resulted in the Londoners’ second goal just before half-time (2-1, 43′).
Two Gambardella winners on the pitch
The second half was marked by few changes, with in particular the entry of freshly crowned winner of the Coupe Gambardella with the AS Monaco U18s, Mayssam Benama, as the Rouge et Blanc tried to regain control of the game. But Chelsea managed their advantage well, and the tie would finally be decided in a penalty shoot-out, the two teams being tied (4-4), on aggregate over the two games.
A winning penalty shootout!
It was a shootout in which Yann Lienard impressed by stopping the second and third shots of the hosts! And even if Ritchy Valme, also crowned at the Stade de France, hit the post, the scorer of the day, Béchir Yacoub, finally sealed the victory for his partners (2-4). It was a great conclusion to this high-level tie against the U-21 team of the 2021 European champions. Well done, lads! 👏
Match details
Tuesday, May 2 – Chelsea Academy
Chelsea FC U21 2-1 (2-4 penalties) AS Monaco Elite Groupe
Halftime: 2-1
Goals: Yacoub (19′) for AS Monaco
AS Monaco: Lienard – Platret, Valme, Béry, Semedo © – Baranik, Bamba, Coulibaly – Yacoub, Baglieri, Efekele
Substitutes: Benchaouch, Couto, Benama, Mayoute, Decarpentrie, Bakali, Kouassi
Manager: Damien Perrinelle
