Olympique de Marseille – AS Monaco Recap

The scoring opened in the seventh minute when Wissam Ben Yedder of Monaco found the back of the net, courtesy of an Aleksandr Golovin assist. Monaco’s joy was short-lived as Guillermo Maripán received a red card just four minutes later, leaving his team with 10 players on the field from the 11th minute onwards.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang managed to level the score for Marseille in the 38th minute, capitalizing on the numerical advantage. The first half took another turn just before the break, with Monaco reclaiming the lead through Maghnes Akliouche, who converted a goal assisted by Wissam Ben Yedder.

The second half continued to provide excitement, and Marseille responded in the 50th minute when Leonardo Balerdi, assisted by Emran Soglo, netted the equalizer. The game took another twist in the 85th minute when Monaco’s Denis Zakaria received a red card, leaving them with nine players on the field.

Despite Marseille’s numerical advantage for a significant portion of the match, they were unable to capitalize fully. The statistics reveal that Marseille have played 247 minutes with a man advantage in Ligue 1 in 2023-24, but they’ve only managed to secure one win out of four matches where they had a numerical advantage until the final whistle.

Guillermo Maripán’s red card in the 11th minute also marked the fastest red card for a Monaco player in a Ligue 1 game since Naldo against Strasbourg on January 19, 2019. Additionally, Denis Zakaria’s dismissal in the 85th minute marked the first time AS Monaco received two red cards in the same top-flight game since May 2, 2021.

Wissam Ben Yedder showcased his goal-scoring prowess by reaching 10+ goals for the 11th season in the top five European leagues. This accomplishment places him in elite company, with only Karim Benzema surpassing him among French players in the 21st century.

With the 2-2 draw, AS Monaco now sits in fourth place in the Ligue 1 table with 34 points, while Olympique de Marseille occupy the sixth place with 29 points.

Also in action today, OGC Nice clinched a 1-0 victory over FC Metz, with Evann Guessand’s penalty, his fourth goal of the season, sealing the result. This win propels Nice into second, while FC Metz finds themselves in 15th ahead of Sunday’s action.

FC Metz, with 16 points, are on the same tally as in their last top-flight season in 2021/22, where they were eventually relegated to Ligue 2. 

Under coach Francesco Farioli, Nice remained unbeaten in his first ten Ligue 1 home games with seven wins and three draws, Nice showcasing their stability and resilience.