Nine-man Monaco hold on to win against Brest and leapfrog them into second in Ligue 1
A crisp air of tension engulfed Stade Francis-Le Ble, as the two teams, separated by just one point and vying for automatic qualification to the UEFA Champions League, went at each other with a point to prove.
With two weeks to rest and recover after beating Rennes, Monaco were clearly the fresher side, as opposed to a Brest outfit that surrendered to Olympique Lyonnais for a first loss in four games.
What ensued for the majority of the half was a power struggle in midfield, with neither goalkeeper seriously tested until Marco Bizot was left helpless in saving Denis Zakaria’s brilliant curler from the edge of the box - as the Swiss international’s effort aimed at the far corner - was beyond the reach of the shot-stopper, with the Monegasques heaping pressure on the hosts going into the break.
Showing no signs of slowing down, Adi Hutter’s men doubled their lead just five minutes after the restart, with Monaco talisman Takumi Minamino picking up Krepin Diatta’s pass before dispatching his drive into the bottom left corner.
Now having scored in both halves of nine of their 14 away Ligue 1 matches this season - the highest such tally in the competition – Monaco established dominance on a Pirates side en route to a second successive defeat.
The way Brest uncharacteristically responded in the final minutes didn’t affect the visitors though who were reduced to 9-men in stoppage time after Eliesse Ben Seghir and Wilfried Singo were sent off in stoppage time, as the hosts fell to a fifth successive Ligue 1 head-to-head loss.
With the win, Monaco prevented Eric Roy’s men from equalling their highest-ever top-flight points tally from the 1986/87 campaign, while also extending their unbeaten away league streak to eight games - scoring two or more goals in seven of those outings. It was nothing but disappointment at the end for Brest, who risk falling down the ranks as they remain inches away from securing a place in Europe’s elite competition for the first time in club history.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Krepin Diatta (AS Monaco)