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Monaco sealed a convincing 2-1 win over Strasbourg at La Meinau on Sunday, with goals from Sébastien Squillaci and Ernesto Chevanton.
The principality team travelled to Alsace with a question mark hanging over them after consecutive defeats against Auxerre and Real Betis, but they responded to their critics with an impressive performance.
Dominant from start to finish, Didier Deschamps’ team sealed the win with two second-half goals. Squillaci broke the deadlock by heading home a 49th-minute corner, before Guillaume Lacour’s defensive lapse 10 minutes from time allowed Chevanton to race clear and shoot past Stéphane Cassard.
Strasbourg pulled a goal back in stoppage time when Ulrich Le Pen swept home a delightful free kick, but their Coach Jacky Duguépéroux will be only too aware that his side need to raise their game if they are to stay clear of relegation trouble this season.
Monaco should have gone in a goal up at the break, but some poor finishing – typified by Toifilou Maoulida’s wayward effort on 32 minutes – let them down. There was no doubting the result once Squillaci had scored, and the rampant visitors might have won more handsomely had substitute Souleymane Camara not seen two good strikes bounce back off the post in the closing stages.
The win takes Monaco up to seventh, while Strasbourg sit vulnerably placed with one point from three matches.
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