Teen striker Anthony Martial scored twice as fourth-place AS Monaco warmed up for their Champions League encounter against Arsenal with a comfortable 3-0 home win on Friday against Corsican side SC Bastia, who finished the match with nine men.
After the 19-year-old Martial put Monaco ahead in the 22nd minute, Bastia’s hopes of a comeback were dashed when defender Drissa Diakite was sent off 10 minutes later.
Brazilian forward Matheus Carvalho made it 2-0 shortly before the break and Martial added his second goal in the 51st.
Photo: AFP
Bastia forward Giovanni Sio was also shown a straight red in the 72nd.
“After the first sending off, things became easier for us,” Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim said. “After a difficult start to the season, Martial is starting to understand my ideas better. He’s more attentive, more hard-working.”
Monaco, who have a game in hand, are four points ahead of fifth-place AS Saint-Etienne and three points behind Marseille, who are to host league leaders Lyon today.
In Friday’s other match, striker Christophe Mandanne took his season’s tally to nine league goals as En Avant de Guingamp won 2-1 at OGC Nice, who had equalized through midfielder Eric Bautheac.
Monaco host Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday, and are confident of reaching the quarter-finals after winning the first leg 3-1 in London. In 2004, Monaco upset the odds to reach the final, knocking out heavy favorites Real Madrid and then Chelsea before losing the final to Jose Mourinho’s Porto.
“We played well. We’ll try and play the same away against Arsenal,” said Martial, whose recent performances have drawn good reviews. “I’m trying to stay focused. I know the coach believes in me and I try to repay that faith in matches.”
Jardim rested veteran striker Dimitar Berbatov, who came on midway through the second half and is likely to start against the Gunners.
There could be a shake-up at the top of the league after today’s games, with second-place Paris Saint-Germain — who knocked out Chelsea to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday — traveling to play sixth-place Girondins de Bordeaux.
If Olympique de Marseille win and PSG lose, then Marseille would move into second spot on goal difference, one point behind Olympique Lyonnais. PSG still have to travel to play Marseille this season.
Yesterday’s scheduled games were more low-key, with fifth-place AS Saint-Etienne hopeful of a win away to last-place Metz. Racing Club de Lens host fellow strugglers Toulouse; Lorient host Normandy side Stade Malherbe Caen; Montpellier Herault face Stade de Reims and Nantes host Evian Thonon Gaillard.
LOSC Lille Metropole face Stade Rennais in today’s other game.
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