AS Monaco have moved closer to securing a place in the knockout stage of the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen this evening.
The Ligue 1 side had just one shot on target, but Lucas Ocampos converted to leave the visitors just a point behind the Group C leaders.
The French club can still finish the campaign as group winners, but Leverkusen will need just a draw against Benfica in their last match.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at this evening's action.
Match statistics
BAYER LEVERKUSEN
Shots: 19
On target: 4
Possession: 64%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 18
AS MONACO
Shots: 4
On target: 1
Possession: 36%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 17
Was the result fair?
To be honest, no. Bayer Leverkusen were the stronger side on the night, dictating the pace of the match for much of the 90 minutes, creating by far the better chances and dominating possession. The home side were unlucky not the take the lead when Lars Bender struck the bar in the first half, while Hakan Calhanoglu would have probably had a hat-trick on another night, narrowly missing the target on several occasions, while also having a couple of shots saved. Monaco certainly made the most of their chance to take the lead, but Leverkusen will feel quite rightly aggrieved given their performance throughout the 90 minutes.
Bayer Leverkusen's performance
Leverkusen had good pace, worked well as a team, particularly in attack, and even tried some ambitious training ground moves as they sought an opening goal. They were unfortunate that Bender had his effort kept out by the bar in the first half, and probably should have been more accurate in front of goal, as just over a quarter of their shots tested Danijel Subasic. The Bundesliga side did seem to lose their focus for a time in the second half as they lacked urgency going forward and left themselves open at the back, which allowed Monaco to steal the win.
AS Monaco's performance
With Zenit St Petersburg winning in the other Group C match earlier, Monaco knew that they needed a win to head into the final match with their destiny in their own hands. However, they looked disinterested at times in the first half, failing to put Bernd Leno under any kind of pressure in the Leverkusen goal. They played better after the break, but still struggled to get forward before the introduction of Lucas Ocampos, who added a much-needed burst of pace to the Ligue 1 side's attack. The visitors defended superbly throughout to prevent the hosts getting off the mark, but could have worked better in midfield to reduce the workload on the back four.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Dimitar Berbatov: The striker may not have scored the goal himself, but he was instrumental in setting up Monaco's winner. The former Leverkusen man fought hard to keep the ball alive on the wing to set up Lucas Ocampos's goal inside the final 20 minutes. The Bulgarian had played selflessly for much of the match, dropping back to help out in defence during Leverkusen's dominant spells, making a few vital blocks and clearances.
Biggest gaffe
Nabil Dirar will cringe when he looks back at an incident where he appealed for the referee to take action against Omer Toprak. The Leverkusen defender did man-handle his opponent somewhat, but the Monaco man came up holding his face, claiming that Toprak had caught him there. The replays showed that there was a bit of a shove on his back not his face, and that he handled the ball.
Referee performance
Italian official Paolo Tagliavento may have missed a red card, but certainly a booking in the first half when Emir Spahic was on the receiving end of a crunching tackle from Dirar; the referee, who was right in front of the incident, just gave a free kick. He did get a penalty call right later in the match though when Bender took a tumble in the box, ruling correctly that there was no foul.
What next?
Bayer Leverkusen: Leverkusen host Koln in the Bundesliga at the weekend, and will also face German champions Bayern Munich before their final Champions League group match against Benfica next month.
AS Monaco: Monaco travel to Rennes in Ligue 1 on Saturday in the first of three league matches before their crucial Group C clash with Zenit next month.
Sian Cowper
