The China Mail - Monaco battle to save season after Champions League exit

After eight games, Monaco were unbeaten and level on 20 points with Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1.

They also took 10 points from the first 12 available in the Champions League, including beating Barcelona, setting them up for direct qualification for the last 16.

However, a fine beginning has given way to a long run of inconsistent results, with Adi Huetter's team losing six of their last 14 in Ligue 1 to find themselves now in fourth place.

They are a huge 16 points behind leaders PSG, and just two ahead of Lille, the team they face this weekend.

The top three in Ligue 1 qualify directly for next season's Champions League, with fourth entering in the qualifying rounds while the side in fifth will have to settle for the Europa League.

A crushing 7-1 win at home to struggling Nantes last weekend -- in which recent signing Mika Biereth scored a second hat-trick in three Ligue 1 games -- was an encouraging sign.

But Monaco's defence has too often been exposed against top-level opposition and that was again the case on Tuesday as a 3-3 draw away to Benfica ended their Champions League campaign in the play-offs.

They had lost three of their final four games in the league phase to miss out on direct progress to the last 16, before losing 4-3 on aggregate to the Portuguese club.

Monaco are also out of the French Cup, meaning their wait for a first trophy since claiming the Ligue 1 title in 2017 will go on.

"I thought we deserved to go through," Huetter, who recently signed a new contract to 2027, said after the Benfica exit, while admitting that his side "committed too many mistakes that were easily avoidable".

There is perhaps too heavy a dependance on young players, with the likes of Maghnes Akliouche, Lamine Camara, Eliesse Ben Seghir and Biereth all aged 22 or under, while captain Denis Zakaria has been too prone to injury.

Going much further in the Champions League, as well as staying with PSG in the title race, may never have been realistic.

However, missing out on next season's Champions League is unthinkable for the club owned by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev.

"Young players have always been the DNA of Monaco," the club's Brazilian CEO Thiago Scuro told L'Equipe this week.

"In the future we maybe need more maturity and leadership. But we have shown that we are ready to be in the top three in Ligue 1."

Player to watch: Nabil Bentaleb

The Algeria midfielder made a remarkable return for Lille last weekend, eight months after suffering a heart attack when playing a game of five-a-side with friends.

Aged 30, former Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Bentaleb was allowed to resume his career after being fitted with a defibrillator.

He marked his comeback by scoring a key late goal for Lille last Sunday in their win against Rennes, just four minutes after coming off the bench.

Now he will hope to be able to play an important role for Lille as they prepare for a Champions League last-16 tie next month, and target qualifying for that competition again next season.

Key stats

4 - Lyon have beaten PSG four times at home in Ligue 1 since the Qatari takeover of the capital club in 2011. However, the last of those victories came in February 2019

9 - Lille have been awarded nine penalties this season. Only Real Madrid (10) have had more among clubs in Europe's big five leagues

10 - Auxerre are winless in 10 Ligue 1 games before Saturday's meeting with Marseille

Fixtures (times GMT)

Friday

Rennes v Reims (1945)

Saturday

Lille v Monaco (1600), Saint-Etienne v Angers (1800), Auxerre v Marseille (2005)

Sunday

Nantes v Lens (1400), Nice v Montpellier, Strasbourg v Brest, Le Havre v Toulouse (all 1615), Lyon v Paris Saint-Germain (1945)

I.Ko--ThChM