Ligue 1: Benjamin Mendy marks his debut for Moustoir during the draw between Lorient and Monaco

Goal in the first and last minute. Thus, Lorient managed to deprive Monaco of their fourth success in Ligue 1 this season. At the end of the open match, the princely club believed for a long time in victory thanks to the first goal under their new colors of Folarin Balogun, but at the end of added time, Merlus were saved by Romain Favre.

Another bright moment of the meeting was the return of Benjamin Mendy to action. Released in Brittany this summer, the 2018 world champion, acquitted of multiple charges of rape and sexual assault earlier in the summer, was widely acclaimed by the Mustoir public for his 70th-minute appearance. Approachable and exciting due to his qualities as a center, the former Manchester City man appeared comfortable and was involved in Lorient’s equalizer. He hasn’t played since August 2021.

Fastest goal of the season

“Merlus” was the first to strike in this meeting. Indeed, just 1:33 in, Regis Le Bris’ men opened the scoring through their summer reinforcement, Beninese striker Ayegun Tosin. Hailing from Zurich, the speedy centre-forward scored the fastest goal of the season in Ligue 1, beating Lille’s Yazici’s winning free kick by three seconds against Montpellier. Finding himself deep thanks to a subtle pass from Eli Crupi, Tosin quickly beat Wilfried Singo before firing the ball past Ken, who was unsure of his exit.

First goal of the season for Balogun

Very calm, the Monegasques did not panic. Building on a good start to the season, Adi Hütter’s men were quick to steal the ball, forcing the locals to defend low. Ultimately, it was Golovin, who had already scored a goal against Lens (3-0), who managed to return the Rocher club to the right direction. Finding himself in the penalty area with Fofana’s heart, the Russian demonstrated an excellent sequence of control – hitting the first goal from the left, leaving no chance for Mvogo (1-1, 17th).

Dominating, however, the leader took a long time before finding fault again in Lorient’s solid block. Therefore, upon returning from the locker room, ASM chose to strike from long range, as did the attempts of Wanderson (48th) and Fofana (51st), which were not dangerous for goalkeeper Merlu. The decision eventually came from the bench of the Roche club, or rather from Folarin Balogun. The main player of the Monaco transfer window, the former Remoy stumped Julien Laporte with a left hook and then deceived Mvogo with a powerful blow (1-2, 69th).

By controlling the situation until the end, Monaco seemed to be heading towards a controlled success. This was without counting on Romain Favre. The former Lyon player crucified Ken in the last moments of the game (2-2, 90s + 7). He is well positioned in the box to parry Toure’s header, which is found by Benjamin Mendy’s long ball.

On Friday 22 September (21:00) Monaco will face their runners-up, OGC Nice, in the Riviera derby.