Many different tags have been applied to Monaco since the club changed tack in terms of recruitment, post-James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao. They’ve been described as the new Porto, and one of the most exciting young teams in Europe. Yet after Saturday’s limp draw at Toulouse, coach Leonardo Jardim was distinctly lacking in understanding, patience or a will to lean on the bigger picture.
“I do want the players to be young,” he told the media, “but that doesn’t mean they can’t concentrate. It’s not possible for a professional team to concede a goal that children would,” Jardim said, fuming over the shambolic defending that led to Tongo Doumbia’s opener, and had characterised the costly Champions League defeat at Valencia on Wednesday.
Between the two legs of the Champions League playoff, a raft of alterations to Jardim’s XI were inevitable – and there were eight from Wednesday’s unlucky defeat at Mestalla. What was perhaps less predictable is how shorn of power Monaco looked in the face of such sweeping changes.
Against a Toulouse side that has become markedly more solid since the appointment of Dominique Arribagé in spring – and in conjunction with his move from a three-man defence to a back four – Jardim’s team really struggled to penetrate. It took an excellent individual goal by Thomas Lemar, just five minutes after he came on as a substitute for Farès Bahlouli, to break Téfécé’s resistance.
Even with 57% of possession, Monaco managed a mere 3 shots on target, including Lemar’s strike. Together with the opening of their season as a whole, it suggests (at least subtly) that opponents might be beginning to figure Jardim out. In Ligue 1 as a whole during 2014/15, Monaco had 52% possession last season, which was only the 6th best in the division. That has leapt up to 59% this campaign, with only Lyon, Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain having more of the ball. Monaco have never been as impressive in Jardim’s reign when required to take the initiative, so perhaps opponents – as famously happened to Borussia Dortmund last season – are challenging them to do just that.
Moreover, the parts of Monaco’s game that were the strongest last season are being called into question too, with the defensive frailties that have surfaced of late very concerning. Monaco’s whole aura last season was based on their indomitable backline, but they have looked pliable ever since they were given the runaround by Alessane Pléa and their own loan player Valère Germain on the opening day of the season, just down the road at Nice.
Much has been made of the players who were missing in the first leg in Spain, with Layvin Kurzawa replaced by Elderson Echiéjilé, and Aymen Abdennour also sitting out as speculation over his future continues. The absences shouldn’t really have weighed so heavily. Valencia are a top quality side, of course, but the remarkable aspect of Monaco’s defensive solidity last season is that it was affected with a constantly changing cast.
Jardim got through nine different centre-back pairings last season, but finished the Ligue 1 campaign with the best defence in the division, with just 26 conceded. Also, Monaco famously conceded just 5 in 9 in their excellent run to the Champions League quarter-finals, of course. Abdennour is still generally thought of as being the team’s most effective and influential defender but despite his excellence, he started a relatively modest 17 matches in Ligue 1 in 14/15. It really was a team effort.
With that said, we can’t totally ignore personnel issues in analysing Monaco’s current difficulties. Jérémy Toulalan played at Toulouse, but at centre-back to cover absences, which affected the shape of the team. The veteran made 3.5 tackles per match last season, more pro rata than any of his teammates. He was missed in the middle on Saturday with Toulouse having 13 shots from their 40% possession, far above the average of 9.3 shots per game conceded by Monaco overall this season.
The loss of Geoffrey Kondogbia (3.1 tackles per match last season) to Inter has clearly taken away from the protection in front of the defence too. Tiemoué Bakayoko (2.9 tackles and 3.3 interceptions on average last season in 10 starts) will be expected to take on a bigger role this season. The 21-year-old did his best to stem the flow at Toulouse, making 5 tackles.
The real miss at the moment is João Moutinho, who is out for a number of weeks after picking up an injury in last week’s draw at home to Lille. He made 35 starts, playing 3165 minutes in total. Only goalkeeper Danijel Subasic and Fabinho had more game time than the Portugal midfielder, and only four minutes more in the Brazilian’s case.
Moutinho is the whole package, scoring 4 and providing 6 assists last season (1.9 key passes on average), landing 83.4% of his passes, while making 2.1 tackles and 1.8 interceptions per game. It’s the latter two stats that will be of the greatest interest to Jardim this season, with the feted Mario Pasalic an ostensibly defensive midfielder who is keen on making runs further forward – in what appears to be Monaco’s first-choice midfield, certainly in Europe, Moutinho will need to cover.
Quite how Jardim approaches the return with Valencia will be fascinating. We know his team have the spirit to pull something out of the tank – the 2-0 win over Zenit Saint Petersburg on matchday 6 of last season’s group stage is an excellent template for that. It’s just that they don’t only need Stephan El Shaarawy and their new-look attack to click, but they need to recover the defensive solidity that they’re so well known for. On the evidence of their last two games, one wonders whether the current squad has the versatility to bring together the collective effort required.
Are Monaco short of quality and if so where do they need to strengthen? Let us know in the comments below
