PLAYER RATINGS | Monaco 0-0 Strasbourg: Champions League-chasers cancel each other out | OneFootball

McDonald’s Ligue 1, Round 30, 19/04/25

AS Monaco and RC Strasbourg Alsace, both chasing UEFA Champions League qualification, saw out a tepid draw (0-0) at the Stade Louis II.

The Match

Only three points separated these sides heading into this game and it was quickly evident that there was little between these sides. With the battle for European football so tight, this six-pointer was cagey in the opening exchanges. Monaco were more successful in sustaining periods of pressure inside the opposition half, but it was Strasbourg who had the first major chance, hitting on the break.

Valentín Barco played an excellent ball through to Emanuel Emegha, whose control was sloppy, allowing Christian Mawissa to make up considerable ground and make a last-ditch challenge. In front of Behdad Eghbali, Djordje Petrovic made a fine stop from Maghnes Akliouche.

Les Monégasques thought they had taken the lead on the stroke of half-time. It was Lamine Camara with a sweeping ball over the top to find Caio Henrique. His shot was well saved by Petrovic but diverted straight into the path of Mika Biereth, who tucked home. The Dane thought he had his 13th Ligue 1 goal in as many games but VAR stopped Henrique’s offside in the lead-up.

The second half was much of the same as the fear of losing outweighed the desire to win for both sides. There was a reticence to really commit and neither side ever had a sustained period where the opposition was put under the cosh. Barco had the best chance for Strasbourg, firing over inside the box before then hitting the target and forcing Philipp Köhn into a rare save seconds later.

Eliesse Ben Seghir came on for Minamino on the 70-minute mark and injected a bit of dynamism. He headed over soon after his entrance, whilst Folarin Balogun also forced Petrovic into a save from a header of his own. Emegha thought he had scored the goal that had given Les Alsaciens a smash-and-grab win, however, his header from the back post was ruled out by VAR. The draw was a fair result with neither side deserving anything more than a point.

Monaco player ratings

Philipp Köhn – 5

Caio Henrique – 5

Christian Mawissa – 6

He made the crucial recovery early on against Emegha. It was the most crucial defensive intervention for either side. The centre-back has a knack of sometimes digging himself a hole but then escaping from it and he did that again on a couple of occasions.

Wilfried Singo – 6

Vanderson – 5

Takumi Minamino – 5

Denis Zakaria – 6

Lamine Camara – 6

Maghnes Akliouche – 3

Really not his night. He looked oddly out of rhythm, even distracted at points. There was a lot of wastefulness and his end product simply wasn’t there, as it has been for much of the season. The lack of movement ahead of him did not aid matters.

Mika Biereth – 4

Breel Embolo – 6

There has been a slight one-dimensionality to Embolo in recent weeks, however, it is an approach of dropping into the No.10 role, holding up, turning his man, and looking for runners that continues to be fruitful. Monaco threatened all-too rarely but they looked brightest when Embolo was involved.

Strasbourg player ratings

Djordje Petrovic – 7

The Chelsea loanee put in a strong, error-free performance in front of Eghbali. He made the stop from Akliouche in the first half, denied Henrique well on the goal that was disallowed, then denied Balogun when he too was offside and then made a good stop – that you would have expected him to make – from Balogun. Forced to play sweeper-keeper on occasions too, he dealt with everything that was thrown at him with composure and seeming ease.

Valentín Barco – 7

The most enterprising of Strasbourg’s players, his ball for Emegha in the first half was a moment of rare quality in the game. His ability to progress the ball down the left and find runners in behind allowed Strasbourg to create moments of danger that, due to a lack of quality throughout the team on the day, could not be sustained.

Mamadou Sarr – 4

Andrew Omobamidele – 5

Ismael Doukouré  – 5

Guéla Doué – 6

Andrey Santos – 4

Habib Diarra – 4

Diego Moreira – 3

Very wasteful, with a loose touch and an inability to find his teammates. Whilst largely unchallenged defensively due to a muted Akliouche performance, he was a liability going forward.

Dilane Bakwa – 4

Emanuel Emegha – 3

Uninvolved for large periods, he wasn’t sharp when he was called upon, notably fluffing his touch when played in by Barco early on.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle