Bordeaux too strong for Monaco [2-1]

Paulo Sousa made several changes to his starting line-up for this high-profile clash, and the Girondins took a while to find their feet. In fact both sides got off to a scrappy start, with stray balls and fouls piling up. Monaco dominated possession early on, but struggled to get close to Benoît Costil. That all changed in the fifteenth minute when Golovin's cross glanced off Ben Yedder's head and into the path of Slimani, who slotted the ball into the net from close range. 1 - 0 to the visitors. The sizeable crowd packed into the Matmut Atlantique didn't have to wait long for the Bordeaux fight-back to begin. Josh Maja delivered a neat pas for Ui-Jo Hwang charging down the left flank, and the Korean's shot was narrowly tipped out by a defender (19’). A few minutes later, Toma Basic picked out Josh Maja with a precise long ball, and Maja's effort was pushed wide for a corner. Nicolas De Préville stepped up and floated the ball directly into the path of Pablo, who soared above the pack to head home the equaliser (1-1 ; 29’). With the teams now level, the midfield battle became tougher than ever and the tackles (and yellow cards) began to fly. Tchouaméni (7’), Benito (23’) and Basic (27’) were all booked for Bordeaux, later joined by Monaco's Bakayoko (37’), Slimani (54’), Dias (59’) and Henrichs (65’) in the referee's notebook. A few harsh challenges aside, this was an entertaining and free-flowing game of football. Aurélien Tchouaméni's screaming volley drew a cat-like save from Lecomte (44’). There was still time for one last breathless moment before half-time, when Ben Yedder broke into the box but failed to beat Costil (45+2’). The scores were still level at the break (1-1).    Monaco came out swinging in the second half, with successive shots from Ben Yedder and Henrichs yielding nothing more than a corner (49’). Bordeaux responded in kind, with Hwang (56’) and Pablo (59’) both testing Lecomte. The turning point finally came when Nicolas De Préville won a free kick 25 metres out. The striker took the spot-kick himself, and promptly won a penalty thanks to a handball from Slimani, who earned himself a second yellow card and an early bath in the process (67’). Nicolas De Préville kept his cool to convert the penalty, placing it just out of reach of the valiant Lecomte (2-1 ; 69’). Monaco refused to be beaten, and drew three spectacular saves from Costil as they searched for an equaliser (72’, 75’, 79’).  Bordeaux were now happy to soak up the pressure and strike on the counter: on one such move late sub Yassine Benrahou succeeded in beating the keeper but not the woodwork (77’). Even as the afternoon's efforts began to take their toll, the Girondins dug deep to round out an exceptional collective performance. An invaluable victory over old rivals Monaco, and three more points for Bordeaux!