Facing Coventry, who were crowned Championship champions last season, AS Monaco were caught out by the English side’s efficiency in transition and suffered a 2-0 defeat in their sixth and final pre-season match. Match report ✍️
Captain Zak' returns in an unfamiliar formation 🔙
At kick-off, Filipe Luís opted for a new approach, lining his side up in an unfamiliar 4-3-3 formation, with Denis Zakaria returning to midfield alongside Lamine Camara and Anis Soubeir. The match got off to a flying start, with Lukáš Hrádecký producing a strong one-handed save to deny Brandon Thomas-Asante (5'), before Mika Biereth saw his effort kept out by Carl Rushworth (8'). Ellis Simms made no mistake at the other end, however, opening the scoring with his right foot for the Premier League newcomers (1-0, 12').
Luck eludes the Monégasques 😭
The Rouge et Blanc then enjoyed the majority of possession, with Stanis Idumbo seeing his effort deflected behind for a corner (22'). Unfortunately, following another high regain, Coventry broke quickly on the counter and Loum Tchaouna doubled the hosts’ advantage with a powerful finish (2-0, 33'). The intensity dropped during the final 15 minutes of the half, and the referee blew for the interval with the English side holding a two-goal lead. Despite the deficit, and just as at Anfield, the Monégasques refused to give up and came close to pulling one back immediately after the restart, but the Belgian winger fired narrowly over (48').
Multiple changes made 🔃
On the hour mark, the Brazilian coach made a number of changes, bringing on Pape Cabral, Vanderson and Aleksandr Golovin (59'), before Flávio Nazinho, Oumar Konaté, Mamadou Coulibaly and Paris Brunner were introduced (68'). The former Cercle Bruges player was quick to make an impact, with his cross-shot deflected behind for a corner by the goalkeeper (76'). Moments later, Coventry thought they had scored a third from a free-kick, but the goal was ruled out for offside (83').
Focus Now Turns to Górnik Zabrze 🇪🇺
That proved to be the final opportunity of AS Monaco’s last pre-season fixture, as the Rouge et Blanc suffered a 2-0 defeat in Coventry, bringing their training camp in England to an end. Attention now turns to competitive action, with the first leg of the UEFA Conference League play-off against Górnik Zabrze on Thursday (20:00), before Ligue 1 returns three days later with an away trip to Le Havre (Sunday, 17:15).
🗓️ Match sheet
Friday 14 August 2026 (20:30) – Coventry Building Society Arena
Friendly: Coventry City 2-0 AS Monaco
Half-time: 2-0
Goals: Simms (12'), Tchaouna (33') for Coventry
Coventry City: Rushworth (C) – van Ewijk, Amenda, Thomas, Dasilva – Grimes, Onyeka – Yirenkyi (Hamer, 65'), Thomas-Asante, Tchaouna – Simms
Substitutes: Dovin, Wilson, Sakamoto, Kitching, Raphael, Kesler-Hayden, Bidwell, Latibeaudiere, Eccles, Torp, Hamer
Head coach: Frank Lampard
AS Monaco: Hradecký – Teze (Vanderson, 59'), Sané (Kehrer, 78'), Dier, Mawissa (Nazinho, 68') – Soubeir (Konaté, 68'), Zakaria (C) (Cabral, 59'), Camara (Benzahra, 78') – Abline (Brunner, 68'), Biereth (Coulibaly, 68'), Idumbo (Golovin, 59')
Substitutes: Köhn, Lienard, Kehrer, Nazinho, Nibombé, Touré, Vanderson, Assab, Benzahra, Cabral, Coulibaly, Golovin, Brunner, Detourbet, Konaté
Head coach: Filipe Luís
