PARIS: Goals from Thilo Kehrer and Folarin Balogun helped Monaco secure a 2-1 away win against Rennes in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
The victory sent the principality side provisionally top with 19 points, three ahead of Paris St-Germain, who hold a better goal difference and have a game in hand.
“After seven games, we have 19 points, that’s the reality and the truth, and we’re really happy about that,” said Monaco coach Adi Huetter.
However, he added: “The championship is not a 100-metre sprint, it’s a 400-metre race, and we’ve started very well.”
Monaco’s match in the rain in Brittany was decided early in the first half.
Kehrer opened the scoring before Ludovic Blas levelled and Balogun then tucked home the winner, all in the first 22 minutes.
Continuing his fine start to the season, Monaco youngster Eliesse Ben Seghir had a part in both of his side’s goals.
His sixth-minute corner met the head of Kehrer, who glanced it into the back of the net despite the efforts of a defender on the line.
Blas put Rennes back on terms five minutes later with a rocket of a left-foot strike from more than 35 yards that flew past Philipp Koehn.
But Balogun wrapped up the points for Huetter’s side when he clipped the ball past
an advancing Steve Mandanda in the 22nd minute after a defence-splitting pass from Ben Seghir.
Earlier on Saturday, Lille moved up to fourth, coming from behind to win at home against lowly Toulouse.
Zakaria Aboukhlal gave the 16th-placed side a surprise lead six minutes before the interval when he squeezed a shot on the rebound over the line from a tight angle.
But former Manchester United playmaker Angel Gomes levelled for Lille on 57 minutes when he prodded home Osame Sahraoui’s lofted pass from close range.
Mitchel Bakker made it two wins in a week at home for Lille — after Wednesday’s 1-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League — with a composed finish in the 72nd minute, rounding off a swift counter-attack.
Meanwhile, a hat-trick from Zuriko Davitashvili propelled Saint-Etienne out of the relegation zone as they beat Auxerre 3-1 at home.
Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2024
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