Henry laments Monaco’s ‘fear of winning’

PARIS: A week that started brightly for Thierry Henry and Monaco ended in disappointment as they let in two late goals to lose 2-1 at home to rising Montpellier in Ligue 1 on Saturday.

Youri Tielemans gave Monaco the lead in the 42nd minute, but Andy Delort levelled after 81 minutes and Petar Skuletic hit the winner with four minutes left.

Monaco remain mired in 19th place in the 20-team division.

Last weekend Henry eked out his first victory as Monaco manager at Caen, but on Wednesday his side lost away to Atletico Madrid, a defeat that ensured they will finish last in their Champions League group.

Against Montpellier, Monaco had a chance to double their lead in the 54th minute when Tielemans, faced with an open goal, passed to Aleksandr Golovin, who hit the bar. After that the visitors took control

“You’ve got to shoot into the empty net,” said Henry after the match.

Asked if the match was a disaster, Henry answer: “Yes!”

“We talk about the fear of losing, but the fear of winning also exists,” he said. “We gave a good performance for 54 minutes .... but that’s not enough.”

The victory lifts Montpellier to second.

Those two met on Saturday and drew 2-2.

In Lille, the home team raced into a two goal lead with goals by Loic Remy, after 17 minutes, and Nicolas Pepe, after 28 minutes.

Lyon, who drew by the same score against Manchester City on Tuesday to remain on course for the last 16 of the Champions League, got their goals from Bertrand Traore after 63 minutes and Moussa Dembele with four minutes to play.

“There is automatically a feeling of frustration among the players,” said Christophe Galtier, the Lille coach. “In the end, I’m happy with this point.”

The Lyon president, JeanMichel Aulas, also said he was happy with a point in the battle to finish second.

“A draw away against a direct opponent for the European places is a good result,” Aulas said. “We saw a good match and a very good Olympique Lyonnais (performance).”