Wissam ben Yedder and Monaco were left frustrated in their attempts to move into provisional fourth place as they were held goalless by a dogged Lorient side in Sunday's early kick-off.
MONACO 0-0 LORIENT
THE MATCH
Monaco had picked up a third win in as many competitive outings with Tuesday's Coupe de France quarter-final defeat of Ligue 2 side Amiens; the Picard club's former coach, Christophe Pelissier, arrived at the Stade Louis II with a Lorient team that had lost its last seven away top-flight away games, and had failed to win in 27 trips. Even if Lorient had ended a 16-match wait for a Ligue 1 Uber Eats win by beating Lens last time out, on paper, this looked a home banker.
But the hosts' ambitions of claiming fourth place ahead of Strasbourg's game at Angers later in the day were frustrated. An early goal had set Monaco on their way to victory against Lyon just over a week ago, and Vanderson might have given them a similar platform had he not dragged a shot wide early on (4').
Aurélien Tchouameni was one of the home players who shone almost as brightly as the Côte d'Azur sun, and the France international tried to force the issue: his header from Caio Henrique's free-kick passed wide of the target, however (26').
That was also true of Wissam ben Yedder's powerful drive (28') as Philippe Clement's men sought to break down their stubborn opponents, who had won the sides' first meeting this season. Vanderson, making his first Ligue 1 Uber Eats start, did finally test Matthieu Dreyer, but Les Merlus' freshly installed number one was handily placed to gather Vanderson's half-volley (34').
Jean Lucas was the man who got that early-bird strike against OL — the former Lyon midfielder's powerful burst down the right started the move that led to Ben Yedder crossing for Sofiane Diop, who could not find a way to curl his shot either side of Dreyer (40').
The veteran also kept out Guillermo Maripan's flick from a Diop corner as Lorient, against all the odds, kept it scoreless at the interval (45+1'). They were helped in their endeavours by Monaco, who — despite a rash of substitutions after the break — simply could not find a spark in the final third.
As so often this season, Ben Yedder nearly provided it. An inswinging Caio Henrique free-kick would have caused Dreyer a problem even if no one had got a touch to it, but Ben Yedder rose to divert the ball's trajectory at close quarters. Dreyer's instincts enabled him to stick out a boot to kick away the goalbound header (82') and earn Lorient a hard-fought but deserved point that moves them — at least temporarily — out of the bottom three.
THE PLAYER: Matthieu Dreyer
When trying to keep a side like Monaco at bay, you're going to need to defend well. Lorient did that, with Léo Pétrot hugely impressive, but you also need your goalkeeper to be an impermeable last line of defence. Dreyer, who was playing only his 54th top-flight game for his fifth club in the competition, was as solid as they come, and his late stop from Ben Yedder was a real knockout blow to Monaco's hopes.
THE STAT: 5
This was only the fifth point Lorient have picked up away from home this season.
