Folarin Balogun came off the bench to score his first goal for Monaco as they had to settle for a point against Lorient in the latest round of action in France’s Ligue 1.
Lorient 2-2 Monaco
Monaco thought they were going to leave Stade Yves Allainmat with the win, but Lorient scored a shock goal deep in stoppage time to see both sides share the points in the end.
Folarin Balogun came off the bench for a second appearance with the Principality side, completing 75 percent of his passes, winning two duels, and taking two shots in his 24 minutes on the field.
The hosts got off to a fast start when Eli Kroupi played a through ball into the path of his teammate Aiyegun Tosin as he outmuscled his marker to chip his shot over Monaco goalkeeper Philipp Kohn and sneak just over the goal line.
However, the league leaders responded 15 minutes later as they leveled the score. Youssouf Fofana played the ball over the top to Aleksandr Golovin and the Russian would not lose his nerve despite two defenders around him as he put his shot past Brice Samba.
With the game still tied going deeper into the second half, Monaco coach Adu Hutter elected to bring on Balogun to provide a spark. He did so in the 69th minute as he scored his first goal for the team. Golovin played the ball to the American striker in the 18-yard box and got his shot just past Samba at his near post.
Just when les Monegasques thought they were on their way to a fourth win this season, Lorient gave one last push to score a dramatic equalizer. Isaak Toure would get his head on the ball from a long pass at the back and Romain Faivre would be on the spot to volley it home.
Monaco remains atop the Ligue 1 standings with 11 points.
Note
Emmanuel Sabbi played the last 16 minutes for Le Havre as they came away with a point in a 0-0 draw with struggling Lyon.
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