Monaco squander chance to lead Ligue 1
Monaco fluffed their opportunity on Friday night to go top of Ligue 1 by drawing 1-1 at home to Montpellier. The French champions were pegged back in the second minute of second half stoppage time when Souleymane Camara headed home Kevin Berigaud's cross.
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The Senegalese forward’s strike cancelled out Radamel Falcao’s first half opener for the hosts at Stade Louis II.
It means that Monaco remain second behind Paris Saint-Germain who can extend their lead to three points with victory over Bordeaux on Saturday at the Parc des Princes.
It has been a disappointing week for Monaco. On Tuesday night in the second Group F game in the Uefa Champions League they lost 3-0 at home to Porto. Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim responded to the setback with five changes to the starting side.
But that failed to jolt the Ligue 1 champions and they began their eighth domestic match of the season slowly. But despite the torpor Falcao slid in his to score his 12th goal in eight league games after 38 minutes.
After the pause, Monaco were unable to double the advantage and paid the price in the dying seconds for their lack of concentration.
"Five minutes from the end when you're leading 1-0, you need to stay focused," said Jardim. "Of course, I'm not happy. The goal of winning was not achieved. When you lose two points in such a manner it forces the players to think. Everybody has to think and realise that there's a need to do more."
Montpellier's second successive stalemate moves them into mid table with nine points. Last week Michel Der Zakarian's men drew 0-0 draw at home with PSG.
The Montpellier boss hailed his team's defensive resilience against two free scoring sides following three defeats in their previous six games.
"It would have been an injustice if we had to go back home without anything from the match," said Der Zakarian. "We actually played well enough to win the game."
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