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Henry laments Monaco’s ‘fear of winning’ after latest loss
PARIS, Dec 2, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A week that started brightly for Thierry
Henry and Monaco ended in disappointment as they let in two late goals to
lose 2-1 at home to rising Montpellier in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Youri Tielemans gave Monaco the lead in the 42nd minute, but Andy Delort
levelled after 81 minutes and Petar Skuletic hit the winner with four minutes
left.
Monaco remain mired in 19th place in the 20-team division.
Last weekend Henry eked out his first victory as Monaco manager at Caen,
but on Wednesday his side lost away to Atletico Madrid, a defeat that ensured
they will finish last in their Champions League group.
Against Montpellier, Monaco had a chance to double their lead in the 54th
minute when Tielemans, faced with an open goal, passed to Aleksandr Golovin,
who hit the bar. After that the visitors took control
“You’ve got to shoot into the empty net,” said Henry after the match.
Asked if the match was a disaster, Henry answer: “Yes!”
“We talk about the fear of losing, but the fear of winning also exists,” he
said. “We gave a good performance for 54 minutes….but that’s not enough.”
The victory lifts Montpellier to second. They are 13 points behind Paris
Saint-Germain, who round off the weekend’s matches in Bordeaux on Sunday
evening, but are just one point ahead of Lyon and two clear of Lille.
Those two met on Saturday and drew 2-2.
In Lille, the home team raced into a two goal lead with goals by Loic Remy,
after 17 minutes, and Nicolas Pepe, after 28 minutes.
Lyon, who drew by the same score against Manchester City on Tuesday to
remain on course for the last 16 of the Champions League, by Bertrand Traore
after 63 minutes and Moussa Dembele with four minutes to play.
“There is automatically a feeling of frustration among the players,” said
Christophe Galtier, the Lille coach. “In the end, I’m happy with this point.”
The Lyon president, Jean-Michel Aulas, also said he was happy with a point
in the battle to finish second.
“A draw away against a direct opponent for the European places is a good
result,” Aulas said. “We saw a good match and a very good Olympique Lyonnais
(performance).”
BSS/AFP/MSY/0857 hrs