Wissam Ben Yedder. VALERY HACHE / AFP
The Principality club can count on the return of its serial scorer to ensure qualification for the next edition of the Europa League.
A timely return. Absent in the last two Ligue 1 meetings – he had been sanctioned against SCO Angers after “missing” a team meeting and was suspended against LOSC -, Wissam Ben Yedder (32) should return to the lawns this Friday evening (9 p.m.) for the opening match of the 36th day of the championship between Olympique Lyonnais and AS Monaco. Good news for the Principality club which is not (yet?) sure of finishing European at the end of the season.
A “killer” in front of goal…
Because since the start of the 2022-2023 financial year – and more generally since his arrival on the Rock in the summer of 2019 – the player trained at Toulouse FC has been neither more nor less than the spearhead of the Monegasque attack. His statistics speak for him: 17 goals and 6 ists in 29 Ligue 1 games. Without him, Philippe Clement’s men – who were not going through a good period, it must be said – had a hard time getting rid of the good last, SCO Angers (1-2)and failed to find the way to the nets against LOSC (0-0), a direct contender in the race for fourth place. “Looking back, Wissam has been very successful in the year and a half that I have been working with him. He has special qualities, and he is a killer in front of goal! We have to find the means to put it in the right conditions. But again, you have to find a good balance in the team’s playing philosophy.“Explained, laudatory, the ASM coach this Wednesday, at a press conference.
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Nevertheless, even if he is back and has shown a great desire in training during the week, “WBY” is not sure to start the match against OL this Friday. “I have a clear idea for the use of each player, but it is up to them to prove that they are ready to do things for the team. At least that’s what I saw from Wissam in training this week. I am now taking the matches one after the other. There is no guarantee for any player to start until the end of the season“, insisted on specifying Philippe Clément.
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…indispensable in the race for Europe
Whether he starts the match or comes off the bench – as has happened regularly in recent months – the French international is in any case an undeniable et for AS Monaco. An et that the club cannot do without in this final sprint. Because if he occupies fourth place in the standings, synonymous with qualification for the next edition of the Europa League, he remains under threat from LOSC but also from Stade Rennes, respectively fifth at five points and sixth at six points. This is why the Monegasques have no room for error against Les Gones. “It’s an important match in view of being European at the end of the season“, recalled Christian Matsima in front of the journalists this Wednesday.
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And to return from Groupama Stadium with the three points, the Monegasques will have to show “the same state of mind and fighting spirit as in the last two matches“, as indicated by the young central defender. But not only, they will also have to shake the nets; something they have struggled to do for a month with only one small goal scored in their last four meetings. This is where Wissam Ben Yedder should come in handy, he who is used to ending seasons as a cannonball. Last year, he had concluded the exercise with 7 goals and 1 offering in the last five days. Will it be as decisive this year? Answer this Friday evening from 9 p.m.