Monaco will be back in the Champions League next season after producing an excellent campaign that saw them in title contention down to the final day of the campaign.
Indeed, from December onwards, they were the best team in the league, winning with impressive regularity as they pushed Lille and PSG all the way.
There were a few week of transition at the beginning of the season as they settled under Niko Kovac and tried to understand what the coach wanted them to do. Indeed, they played in the most unique style of any of France’s top flight clubs, effectively playing in a 3-2-4-1 formation that was very attack minded.
Kevin Volland might have been a slow starter but once he was moved into a central role was an ace alongside the typically prolific Wissam Ben Yedder, while Monaco discovered something of a hidden gem in the form of Sofiane Diop, who enjoyed a breakout season in part because Aleksandr Golovin spent a long period out injured. When fit, the Russian was outstanding and thrived with the freedom that Kovac’s system afforded him.
This was underpinned by the strong performances of defensive midfielder Youssouf Fofana and Aurelien Tchouameni, the latter of whom had barely been used by the previous management but developed into a key player.
Monaco’s three centre-backs were all strong performers, with Djibril Sidibe somewhat surprisingly breaking into this corps after being on the periphery of Kovac’s thinking for much of the season.
Guillermo Maripan proved something of a surprise ace as his aerial ability from set pieces added another string to Monaco’s countless attacking options, while both Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile enhanced their reputations.
Goalkeeper was the only position where there was some doubts. Benjamin Lecomte did not have a particularly great season.
This was an exciting campaign from Monaco, who are ahead of schedule in their rebuild. With a smart sporting director in Paul Mitchell, the summer promises to be an interesting one.
