Ben Yedder and Slimani: A duo is born
It took only two minutes for the connection to be established between the two teammates, when on his first pass Wissam Ben Yedder was looking for Islam Slimani in the depth.
A little off, the initial pass was captured by Bernardoni. In the 17th minute, Ben Yedder got free for a key pass, then he found Slimani with his back to the goal. The Algerian international then showed his determination against two defenders, eliminating the first with a slick move, but bumping into the second defender when shooting. The No. 20 is a fighter, apparent a few moments earlier when he was warned by the referee, Mr. Delerue, for excess commitment to a tackle.
As for Wissam Ben Yedder, he did not hesitate to take his attempts in the game. With only 21 balls played and an individual possession of 11 small seconds, the French international was very influential in the first half and had no trouble trying the pass to space. Of particular note were the three excellent passes sent to Gelson Martins in the 24th and 28th minutes, as well as one to Henry Onyekuru in the 30th. Slimani was not outdone when he found Martins downfield twice (32′ and 33′). Each of these passes was not far from creating a goal.
Beautiful promises
A few minutes later, with one or two Nîmes defenders monopolizing the box, Ben Yedder found Slimani on the first goal, and the opposite scenario happening on the second. Of course, the connection between the two new red and white attackers is promising.
⚽️ Premier but 🔴⚪️ pour @slimaniislam 👌 #ASMNO pic.twitter.com/tdI5fVhU2S
— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) August 26, 2019
👉 @WissBenYedder ⚽️👊 #ASMNO pic.twitter.com/xNDivKsch5
— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) August 26, 2019
Although the story of this match, an early red card, pushed Wissam Ben Yedder to the bench too quickly in the second half, the first hour of his partnership with Islam Slimani showed that the two men have a mental link.
Finally, let’s point out that Slimani was a stalwart after the premature exit of his sidekick, strong in pressing the ball, as well as the attacking support he offered throughout the end of the game. The Nîmes defenders did not give him any gifts, as he was the player with the most fouls (4). The recent champion of Africa was invaluable and left an excellent impression in his big debut with AS Monaco.
