Mbappe watches from bench as Monaco maul Marseille
PARIS: Kylian Mbappe was left on the bench as Radamel Falcao scored twice in Monaco’s 6-1 trouncing of Marseille in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
Four of the goals came in the first half at the Stade Louis II, with captain Falcao’s brace falling in between strikes from Kamil Glik and Adama Diakhaby. Djibril Sidibe and Fabinho, with a penalty, completed the rout after the break.
The reigning champions have won four out of four games to start the season and sit second on goal difference behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain, the only other team with a perfect record at the end of August.
Monaco’s record-breaking run of victories in France’s top flight now stretches to 16, and they have scored 18 goals in their last four games against Marseille, winning the lot.
Marseille, for whom Remy Cabella grabbed a consolation, had not lost in 14 Ligue 1 matches but they were outclassed by a Monaco side clearly not perturbed by the speculation surrounding Mbappe’s future.
The 18-year-old French international striker, one of the stars of last season’s run to the title, is on the brink of completing a much talked about move to PSG that would end a summer-long transfer saga.
“The most important thing at Monaco is the team. We don’t usually think that one individual player is more important,” said Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim.
“Kylian is a star and a top-level player. But for six months last year we often played without him and won.
“He is a Monaco player. That is why he was on the bench. But after it went 4-0, I didn’t need him.”
A deal for Mbappe could be worth as much as 180 million euros ($215 million), making him the second most expensive player in football history behind Neymar, who joined PSG from Barcelona for 222 million euros earlier this month.
The principality club have also lost Tiemoue Bakayoko, Bernardo Silva, Benjamin Mendy and Valere Germain since their stunning title win, but they look to be in rude health nevertheless.
Polish centre-back Glik turned in a Thomas Lemar free-kick for the second-minute opener, with Steve Mandanda turning a Diakhaby effort onto the post moments later.
Monaco were 2-0 up in the 20th minute as Falcao converted a penalty awarded for a Jordan Amavi foul on Fabinho, another player closely linked with a move to PSG.
Colombian star Falcao then headed in to make it 3-0 after Diakhaby had helped on a freekick in the 34th minute, and it was four on the stroke of half-time as superb play by Rony Lopes left Diakhaby with a tap-in for his first goal since signing from Rennes.
Unhappy Marseille fans tried to invade the pitch at the Stade Louis II after that goal, and the misery continued after the break for them.
Sidibe stooped to head in the fifth midway through the second half after Glik had headed against the post from a Joao Moutinho ball in, before Cabella converted a driven ball across goal by Florian Thauvin to pull one back.
But it ended in a tennis score as Hiroki Sakai’s foul on Jorge allowed Fabinho to smash in another penalty and make it 61. “I never thought against OM, who are stronger than last year, that we could win 6-1,” added Jardim. - AFP