Monaco found another way through on Friday night. In a match that twisted late and asked for nerve after a difficult week for Lens, Paris Brunner’s fourth Ligue 1 goal of the season and Jonathan Gradit’s own goal gave ASM a 2-1 victory at the Stade Louis-II.
The result sends Felipe Luis’ side provisionally back to the top of Ligue 1, three points clear of Lille and Rennes and five ahead of Paris FC and Lyon. Only five rounds have been played, but Monaco have already beaten Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain and now Lens — an early statement from a team increasingly comfortable against the division’s leading ambitions.
Matthis Abline, handed his first Monaco start since arriving from Nantes during the summer, was central to the opening goal. The forward’s pace and movement repeatedly unsettled Lens, and he carried the ball forward before rolling it back for the unmarked Brunner to finish.
Abline had thought he had scored as early as the ninth minute, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside. He later passed up a far clearer opportunity, firing wide with an open goal in front of him after Risser had pushed away a Brunner shot. It looked, for a time, like the sort of miss that might change the whole evening.
Lens respond before late misfortune
Lens arrived in the Principality with a heavily altered starting XI and upheaval still fresh behind the scenes, following Dino Toppmöller’s replacement by Yannick Cahuzac. Yet their ability to fight back has remained intact. They had beaten Slavia Prague 3-2 in a dramatic Champions League finish and recovered from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Le Mans; once again, they refused to disappear when the game turned against them.
The visitors levelled at 1-1 and briefly looked capable of taking more from the contest. Florian Thauvin missed the target, while Lukas Hradecky made an important intervention to keep Monaco in the match. Monaco also had three goals ruled out across the evening, adding to the sense that their control was never quite secure.
But the decisive moment came in the 84th minute. Gradit, under pressure in his own area, diverted the ball into his own net to restore Monaco’s advantage. Abline’s earlier miss was spared any consequence, while Lens were left with another painful late turn.
Monaco have resources as well as momentum, with Brunner emerging as one of the season’s early revelations. Lens, meanwhile, remain on four points from five matches despite another display of resilience in adversity.
