PLAYER RATINGS | Brest 0-2 Monaco: Denis Zakaria and Takumi Minamino goals lift Les Monégasques to second

Ligue 1 Uber Eats, Matchday 30, 21/04/24

AS Monaco beat Stade Brestois (0-2) to leapfrog their opponents into second position in Ligue 1, further consolidate their place on the podium and inflict the hosts to a first defeat at the Stade Francis Le Blé since the end of October. 

Only one point separated the sides in the table going into the match and little separated them on the pitch. Chances were at a premium in a tightly contested first half. Whilst Brest had more possession in the first half, it was Monaco who created the better chances. 

A flashed ball across the face of the Brest goal from Youssouf Fofana, which wasn’t met by any player, was the closest either side went to scoring prior to Denis Zakaria’s opener. While Brest were claiming a foul from Takumi Minamino on Julien Le Cardinal, Zakaria controlled the ball on the corner of the Brest box, curling a sublime curled effort past Marco Bizot.

Monaco returned from the dressing room and sought to quickly put the game to bed. Takumi Minamio broke through but one-on-one, he chose to square the ball – ultimately to no one – rather than shoot himself. However, he took his chance at immediate redemption. Seconds later, he was well placed to turn Krépin Diatta’s cutback past Bizot. 

Folarin Balogun had the chance to add a third for Monaco but couldn’t beat Bizot with his chipped effort. Brest, however, were lacking inspiration and only created their first clear chance in the 87th minute with Martin Satriano’s flicked header forcing Radoslaw Majecki into a relatively simple save. 

The game ended on a sour note for Monaco with Eliesse Ben Seghir and Wilfried Singo both sent off for off-the-ball altercations in second-half added-time. Regardless, Les Monégasques leapfrog Brest