Languishing in Division Three is tough for Monaco...a small principality with a history of punching well above its weight and now it would seem that once again it has found its feet.
Matchday 5 in the Crepe Cup and after all the hype and inevitability that many thought would see Division One side Lyon romp to the group win it is Monaco who have sealed the deal. Unbeaten in 5 matches, unbowed by the apparent greatness of others...Monaco have won the group.
Marseille put up little resistance to Monaco last night at the Velodrome, behind to a Falcao penalty after only 7 minutes their only real fight came when Ben Yedder converted in the 14th minute to equalise...from then on it was one way traffic and with the killer punch of a second from Vieirinha on the 44th minute it looked like the night might end in a bit of a rout...a mood not helped when Diarra saw red for Marseille on 59 minutes but once again Mandana proved his worth to the home side and kept the scoreline to just 2-1 although in fairness Marseille had little to offer for large chunks of the game and their inconsistency must be starting to concern their manager as they try and consolidate at least a play off berth in the league.
For Monaco its all about looking forward now...the group is won and they can now start to dream of greater things as the Regional Cups progress to future stages.
Over at Parc OL things were going from bad to worse for Lyon...early promise in the group has gone now and slump is the word on the street as they lost once again to a PSG side with second in the group very much in its grasp now.
Pastore had the visitors ahead in the 20th minute and for long spells both sides seemed content to spar with each other as they looked for a way through...up stepped the ageless Totti in 81 minutes to equalise...Lyon sensed a late chance to push on and kill the game and then for another week in this competition the slump hit...Motta securing his Man of the Match accolade by heading up the other end and putting PSG on the road to victory just a minute after Totti had leveled...cue much jubilation from the visiting support and the parking of the PSG bus as they rode out the final few minutes to put second place firmly within their own hands.
Matchday 6 will decide the runners up spot...PSG will start favorites with 7 points, a neutral goal difference and a trip to Marseille who may or may not turn up as a footballing unit depending how they feel on the night such is their indifference at times this season...a win for PSG secures second...its in their hands...
Lyon play Monaco knowing they have to win to have any chance, no other result sees them through unless you want to get into the nitty gritty of Marseille beating PSG, Lyon drawing and goal difference getting involved...its win or bust really for Lyon now and even that might not be enough for the runners up spot...not at all what the pundits thought would happen five weeks ago.
But take nothing away from Monaco...the plucky buggers are hard to beat and many sides might yet come unstuck against them in this competition...onward to the final round of fixtures next Wednesday.
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