A single point separates the two teams who remain at the end of the first part of the table despite very different ambitions: if Monaco has separated from Niko Kovac in order to win a new ticket for the Champions League, Nantes is aiming above all to escape the psychodramas that almost sent him to Ligue 2 last year.
Now relegated to 6 points from the podium, the Monegasques will have to catch up on Sunday in Clermont, probably on condition that the players affected by the Covid these two weeks return to form.
Nantes, slowed down in their momentum after five straight victories in all competitions, remain two points behind European places before a perilous trip to Nice.
Already deprived of several holders, Clement had to quickly replace Djibril Sidibé and Benoît Badiashile, who were injured in the first period.
And he had no more options when Myron Boadu, hit in a thigh, left his teammates at 10 for the last minutes.
Monaco however quickly took control of the game, with great intensity and organized pressing, in particular thanks to Caio Henrique replaced as playmaker and the slaughter of the captain of the day, Aurélien Tchouaméni.
AS Belgian coach Philippe Clement directs his training session at the performance center in La Turbie, January 5, 2022 Valery HACHE AFP / Archives
Sofiane Diop had several opportunities to open the scoring but his first strike was parried by Alban Lafont (5th) and the next was not on target (24th).
But the Nantes people did not allow themselves to be fooled: a few replacements and a gradual decline in the regime of Clement's men allowed them to balance the debates, before launching an attack on the Monegasque camp in the second half.
Failing to keep the offensive impetus advocated by their new coach, the Monegasques have at least managed to muzzle Randal Kolo Muani, the free electron of Nantes.
All finished exhausted, at the end of a breathtaking final that no one managed to take advantage of.
© 2022 AFP