The meeting of the seventh round of the championship of France between “Monaco” and “Nice” was the benefit of Alexander Golovin. He spent his best match in a European career and helped his team win their first victory this season. The Russian midfielder made his debut double in Ligue 1 and assisted teammate Wissam Ben-Yedder.
Before meeting with Nice, the situation of Monaco could only be called disastrous. The red and white had a very unsuccessful start to the championship and in the first six rounds they never knew the taste of victory. In the first two, the wards of Leonard Jardim were defeated with a total score of 0: 6, and in the next three they invariably missed the coveted three points. Monegasques fought three times during the match, but each time they allowed the opponent to either restore parity, or even break ahead. This is exactly what happened in the confrontation with Marseille. Ben-Yedder double provided a comfortable advantage, but between the 38th to 66th minute the team conceded four unanswered goals.
In light of this, Monaco was hardly worth hoping for success in the derby. Red and white approached him in the status of one of the main outsiders of the championship, and “Nice” took third place, second only to upstarts from “Angers” and “Paris Saint-Germain”. True, despite the high positions in the standings, the team of Patrick Vieyer has already twice suffered defeats after the start of the French championship, which gave hope to their opponents.
One of the main problems of Monaco this season can be called the lack of a clear leader. In the past, this was Radamel Falcao, but after his departure, the team was in a difficult situation. In view of the serious renewal of the roster, the new players have not yet had time to finally get used to it, and among the rest there was also no leader. Golovin himself, although often looked like a bright spot in the game of the Monegasques, could not drag the team behind him or he did not dare.
The first goal of “Monaco” was an illustration of Golovin’s intentions to take the initiative into his own hands. The Russian played a corner with Cesc Fabregas, but did not execute a canopy into the penalty area, but powerfully struck into the near corner. The decision turned out to be so unexpected and arrogant, and the blow - accurate, that Walter Benitez could only pull the ball out of the net.
This goal demonstrated what was noticeable even in recent meetings of the Russian team in the Euro 2020 qualification. Performance in the top championship tempered Golovin and taught him how to make decisions in a split second. If earlier he often overexposed the ball and was late with gears or shots, now he began to do everything in a timely manner. It is not surprising that in recent games with Scotland and Kazakhstan, Alexander looked stronger than many of his partners.
The second goal did not become the same masterpiece as the first. By this time, “Monaco” had already missed and was 20 minutes from his fourth draw of the season. To the rescue came the trio in the person of Golovin, Islam Slimani and Cesc Fabregas. The Spaniard performed the most accurate throw for 30 meters, the Algerian had a great ball and gave a pass to the “corridor” between the two defenders. The Russian cool opened and beat the goalkeeper in two touches.
Thanks to this, Golovin became the first Russian footballer in 25 years to take a double in the French League 1 match. The last time Alexander Mostov succeeded in October 1994, while playing for Strasbourg, sent two goals into the Sochaux goal.
These successes have shown that, although Golovin is an excellent generalist, the greatest benefit comes precisely from the position of an attacking midfielder. It was in this role that Leonid Slutsky used it in CSKA, and Stanislav Cherchesov, although he lowered it a little deeper, but always demanded full participation in the organization of the attack. In Monaco, Alexander was often forced to do too much rough work, which bound his hands.
Ben-Yedder's goal recalled that Golovin is good not only in the fight for the ball and the end, but also in pressure. Russian perfectly read the situation and intercepted the transmission of Youssef Atal. Subsequently, he easily cracked down on Adrian Tamez, who refused to go to Spartak, and rolled out a pass to open Wissam, who doubled the advantage of Monaco.
Golovin held his best meeting in the European career and after graduation received well-deserved praise from both the club and fans and journalists. In particular, the leaders of the Monegasques Dmitry Rybolovlev and Oleg Petrov personally congratulated their compatriot on their excellent performance, and the French publication L'Equipe posted a message on Twitter with the words “Spasiba Golovin”.
At the press conference, the success of his midfielder was also noted by the mentor. Leonardo Jardim pointed out Golovin’s progress and said that the club values its athlete.
“Alexander came to us from the championship, which differs from League 1. He is gradually adding to the game, and this has its own significance for the team. I also praised Benoit Badiashil for playing in this match. I think that we have many strong midfielders, among them there are Tiemue (Bakayoko. - RT ), Fabregas, Golovin and Adrien (Silva. - RT ). They need to be cherished. I look forward to them, ”concluded Jardim.
Golovin himself admitted that a derby with “Nice” was crucial for every red-white player.
“They were among the leaders, and we, on the contrary, are at the bottom of the standings. We have not had victories in this championship yet, we really wanted to win, ”the Championship quotes the midfielder.
The success of his client was also noted by agent Oleg Artyomov, representing Golovin's interests. According to him, "Alexander showed all his best qualities."
“The point is not only in two goals scored and an assist, but also in the amount of work that he performed. It was Golovin who became the real leader on the field in difficult times and led the partners behind him, ”said Artyomov.
According to him, the Russian completed the adaptation period in League 1 and now can fully concentrate on his game.
“At the moment, this is his best game in the French career. Now it is important to consistently demonstrate your level. And for Monaco, this victory is very important psychologically. It can be a turning point throughout the season, ”concluded the agent.