Outraged by the red card shown to Dehmaine Tabibou during Nantes’ last-minute draw against Brest (1-1) this Sunday in Ligue 1, Vahid Halilhodzic was also sent off by the referee. The Nantes manager lost his temper, but the lengthy suspension he faces hardly worries him.
It will take one, or even several, miracles for FC Nantes to stay in Ligue 1 this season. Almost forced to win to keep their hopes alive, the side currently 17th in the league ended up conceding a draw in stoppage time against Brest (1-1) on Sunday, on matchday 30.
The blame lies largely with the red card shown to Dehmaine Tabibou with thirty minutes to go. A decision that was incomprehensible to his manager Vahid Halilhodzic, who made his feelings known to the referee vehemently… before being sent off himself.
A blank stare and a pale face in the stands
“Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Come and speak to me right now!” the Bosnian manager shouted from his technical area, refusing to go to the stands and even verbally lashing out at the fourth official. He eventually complied, only to see his players concede a goal in the dying moments of the match, from a header by Brendan Chardonnet. At the final whistle, the former Paris Saint-Germain coach remained seated in his chair for a long time, staring blankly with a pale face.
“Coach Vahid” then went down to the dressing room to speak to his players, before taking to the Ligue 1+ microphone to discuss the red card incident. “Of course I’m angry, and completely baffled. I didn’t understand that red card. I haven’t always understood the referee’s decisions today. Why all this? I don’t know. I don’t know this referee; he’s young. I was told not to say too much because I could be suspended,” he began.
“I could even get a 10-year ban, because I’m done with football”
“But I don’t care about the ban. I could even get 10 years, because I’m done with football. But when I see injustices like this, I have to react. It’s subjective, of course, but I didn’t understand any of it. So I called the referee over to ask him to explain it all to me. Why the red card? I’m asking for an explanation. You need to show some respect, sir! Who does this man think he is?”, wondered the former Algeria manager, who clearly did not appreciate the referee’s attitude.
Despite dropping two points in the dying minutes, Halilhodzic isn’t angry with his players. “They gave it their all today; we deserved to win. Even down to ten men, we managed to create chances. So yes, there’s frustration, anger—I don’t know what words to use to describe how I feel, and it’s the same for my players,” he concluded. FCN are five points behind Auxerre, who occupy the play-off spot, with a fixture list that is arguably too tough (PSG, Rennes, Marseille, Lens and Toulouse) to offer any hope of survival.
Monaco come back from the brink… – Match review and player ratings (ASM 2-2 AJA)
Unrecognisable in the first half and trailing by two goals, AS Monaco still managed to secure a draw against AJ Auxerre (2-2) this Sunday at the Stade Louis-II on Matchday 30 of Ligue 1. After the break, the Monegasques put in a fine fightback.
The Monegasques deserve credit for their reaction… Disappointing in the first half, AS Monaco rallied to hold AJ Auxerre to a 2-2 draw this Sunday at the Stade Louis-II on Matchday 30 of Ligue 1.
Trailing after goals from Kévin Danois and Lassine Sinayoko, the Principality side rallied after the break thanks to Ansu Fati and Folarin Balogun. In the table, ASM, still 7th, are four points behind Lille in 3rd, whilst AJA, 16th, trail Nice in 15th by four points.
Danois and Sinayoko on target
From the opening minutes, the Monegasques showed initiative by settling into the opposition’s half. Yet, despite being under pressure, Auxerre struck first through a Danois volley across goal from the edge of the box after a corner was cleared into the centre by Kehrer (0-1, 11th). A fine piece of skill! Forced to react, Monaco struggled to find space against a solid AJA defensive block.
ASM were caught out all too easily on several quick counter-attacks and came close to conceding a goal when Oppegård fired at Hradecky. Saved by a fine defensive intervention from Okoh to deny Balogun, Auxerre then managed to slow the pace against a Monegasque side lacking in bite… And in the process, AJA doubled their lead through a strike from Sinayoko, who scored thanks to a blunder by Hradecky (0-2, 33′). Until the break, Monaco proved incapable of responding…
Monaco’s revival!
After the break, Pocognoli attempted to spark a comeback by bringing on Adingra in place of Bamba. However, in the opening minutes of the second half, Auxerre continued to look the more dangerous side with incisive attacks. Then, from a long-range shot by Teze, Monaco finally looked threatening, but Léon was alert! After pushing hard, the Monegasques were rewarded thanks to Fati, who found the net with a long-range shot (1-2, 56′).
A few seconds later, Balogun, played in well by Akliouche, won a penalty for a foul by Léon! Without hesitation, the American converted his spot-kick down the middle (2-2, 59′). After a brief scuffle following the equaliser, AJA seemed to be hanging by a thread and were left fuming when Balogun had a goal disallowed for offside… Whilst Auxerre suffered a blow with Léon’s departure, Monaco stepped up the pressure in the closing minutes, but couldn’t find a way through.
Match rating: 7/10
A lively match. The opening minutes were quite entertaining, with AS Monaco in control and an AJ Auxerre side ready to pounce on the counter-attack. But the Monegasques were quickly deflated by the opposition’s opening goal and lost their way… And thereafter, despite Auxerre’s second goal, the pace dropped in the first half. Fortunately, thanks to ASM’s fightback, the second half was more lively.
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