Ligue 1 saw a battle of the Yanks over the weekend but it was Folarin Balogun who stole the Franco-American headlines as he bagged his second goal of the season in Monaco’s late win against Montpellier.
Monaco 2 – 1 Montpellier
The Red and Whites left it late to claim all three points from visiting Montepellier on Saturday night at Stade Louis II. Folarin Balogun kept his place in the starting line-up and repaid his coach’s confidence by finding the back of the net in the first half after his team went behind by a goal. Their winner came deep in stoppage time.
It only took 16 minutes for the hosts to concede the lead to Montpellier when, against the run of play, Akor Adams played Rabby Nzingoula through and the Congolese teen smashed it inside the top right hand corner of the box.
Three minutes later Balogun had a great chance at get back on level terms when Aleksandr Golovin played him through the middle, but the American struck the ball high and wide from the center of the 18-yard box. Three minutes after that the former Arsenal man missed the target with a close range header.
It turned out to be third time lucky for the American striker when in the 32nd minute he tucked teammate Breel Embolo’s pass into the bottom left-hand corner to put the game on even terms
In the second half Balogun had three more attempts at goal but the game was still at a stalemate after 90 minutes. The turning point was when Tanguy Coulibaly picked up his second yellow card in the 93rd minute and left Montpellier down a man. Lamine Camara took advantage and found the back of the net in the 98th minute with Embolo providing his second assist of the game.
The win moves Monaco up into second place, equal on points with leaders PSG but with an inferior goal difference. They’ll look to carry on their winning ways midweek when they take on Dinamo Zagreb in Champions League action before returning to league action against Stade Rennes over the weekend.
Toulouse 1 – 2 Lyon
It was a Yank-vs-Yank contest as both Mark McKenzie of Toulouse and Tanner Tessmann of Lyon were in the starting line-ups for their respective teams. The former Philadelphia Union defender went the distance while the midfielder put in a 67 minute shift in Lyon’s midfield.
Toulouse was responsible for two of the goals although they came out on the losing end of this contest. After Yann Gboho scored his second of the season just 14 minutes into the game for the Violets, Rasmus Nicolaisen scored his first; however the Danish defender beat his own keeper to gift Lyon the equalizer.
It took until the 95th minute before a game winning goal could be found and it was Malick Fofana’s left footed shot inside the box that sealed the win for Olympique.
Lyon has a trip to Scotland midweek to take on Glasgow Rangers in Europa League action before they welcome Nantes to Groupama Stadium over the weekend. McKenzie will have the entire week to prepare for their next contest, which will be a trip north to take on Lille.
Notes
Emmanuel Sabbi started the day on the bench when his Le Havre side welcomed Lille to the seaside. The American came onto the field in the 59th minute, after his side was already down by two goals to none. It was the Canadian front man, Jonathan David who scored both goals in the first half. He added a third 10 minutes before full time to complete his hat trick. The game ended 3-0. After six games, the Sky and Navy find themselves on just six points and in the 13th spot. Next up they’ll head west along the English Channel coastline to take on Brest on Sunday afternoon.
Caleb Wiley is still injured and is not expected to suit up for Strasbourg when they host Marseille on Sunday night.
