The match: 0-2

Sparta Prague will not have been an illusion for very long. For a quarter of an hour, the Czechs, already launched in their domestic season (two Championship matches) believed they could impose their rhythm. But ASM, which initially struggled to express its power, quickly regained control and created the first chances by Golovine (11th) and Gelson Martins (14th, 21st). His opponent may just regret this off target header from Hlozek, in an ideal position (23rd), the only big fear in the Monegasque area throughout the match.

It’s simple: for his official debut, Alexander Nübel had only one save to make, on a not really strong strike that he had caused by missing his clearance at the foot (69th). Otherwise, the new German goalkeeper of the ASM rather displayed his tranquility at the foot, precisely, and observed from quite a distance his team gain the upper hand and then step on his opponent. The goal of Aurélien Tchouaméni (37th) concretized this domination and the lamentable excesses which followed did not deviate Monaco from its trajectory, even under the influence of fatigue.

Sofiane Diop, who replaced a Wissam Ben Yedder a little short physically in the 57th, was decisive on the action of the 2-0, by going to seek with the head a ball transformed by Kevin Volland (2-0, 59th). Solid from start to finish, Niko Kovac’s training has one foot and four toes in the Champions League play-offs after this excellent result. Even if the advantage of the but on the outside no longer exists, we do not see how the Czechs could cast doubt on the return, next Tuesday at the Stade Louis-II.

The fact: the match interrupted for monkey screams

While Aurélien Tchouaméni had just opened the scoring with a header, from a corner (37th), the Monegasque players went to the refereeing trio to complain about the racist behavior of the Czech public. They clearly heard monkey screams from a handful of fans. Wissam Ben Yedder and a few of his teammates seemed ready to leave the pitch in protest. Finally, after about three minutes of palaver, the game was able to resume. The referee, Michael Oliver, also heard the cries of monkey, the receivers and a follow-up of the procedure envisaged by the UEFA in this case: the announcer of the stadium has the public that in case of recurrence, he would interrupt the match. . During the break, a message denouncing racism was broadcast on the giant screens of the stadium. This is not the first time that the public in Sparta has been guilty of racist behavior. This Tuesday, in the columns of our newspaper, the French Florent Poulolo, evolving in Olomouc, testified to having been a victim in July.

The player: Tchouaméni on its way

The AS Monaco defensive midfielder, named last season’s best prospect during the UNFP trophies, attacked the 2021-2022 exercise as hard as he had completed the previous one. Author of the opening of the scoring, of the head on a corner of Golovine, the first of his team (37th), Aurélien Tchouaméni (21 years) established for the French superiority on the Czech lawn. A goal but also an enormous activity in the middle, where he imposed his power and his serenity. It would be a shame if he did not see the “real” Champions League in September.