Monaco flew out of the blocks, with Folarin Balogun firing narrowly wide, before they broke the deadlock in the sixth minute. Inexplicably losing possession at the worst possible time under pressure from Balogun, Mike Penders could only watch in horror as the alert Maghnes Akliouche proceeded to tap the ball into an empty net to give the hosts an early lead.
In the absence of the injured Emanuel Emegha, it took until the 23rd minute for Strasbourg to force Lukas Hradecky into his first save of the match, but what a stop it was. Dealing with a number of players in front of him, the Finnish goalkeeper spectacularly managed to get his gloves on Diego Moreira’s first-time effort to maintain Monaco’s momentum.
However, Hradecky was helpless when Joaquin Panichelli appeared to head Strasbourg level in the 33rd minute, only for referee Benoît Bastien to rule out the effort for offside.
Balogun came close to tormenting Penders again with half-time on the horizon, but on this occasion, the Chelsea-loanee stuck out a leg to keep the game within Strasbourg's reach.
Eventually, Balogun triumphed in his battle with Penders after only three minutes of the second half as he clinically dispatched past the onrushing goalkeeper following Lamine Camara’s defence-splitting pass.
Two nearly became three for Monaco moments later, as Mika Biereth appeared to get in on the goalscoring action before VAR intervened, ruling out the effort for an offside.
Down but not out, Strasbourg stunned Monaco in the space of three minutes to get themselves back into the game. First, substitute Dilane Bakwa halved the deficit with a brilliant half-volley, then Caio Henrique’s needless foul on Bakwa in the area allowed Panichelli to send an unstoppable penalty past Hradecky to set up an intriguing finale.
Kendry Paez came close to winning it late on for Strasbourg, but was expertly denied by Philipp Kohn, who replaced the injured Hradecky.
Ultimately, justice prevailed for Monaco’s overall dominance in the contest as Minamino headed home Akliouche’s cross at the back post to claim all three points.
To compound Strasbourg's evening, Rabby Nzingoula was sent off late on for denying a clear scoring opportunity.
Two victories from their opening three matches see Monaco begin the campaign in confident fashion, hoping to build on last season’s third-place finish.
Despite the defeat, belief in the Strasbourg dressing room should remain high as they possess an identical record to the Monegasques this season (W2, L1).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco)
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