Ligue 1 2021/22: How Monaco’s midfield pushed their victory against Lille – tactical analysis

The 36th game week of the 2021-22 Ligue 1 season saw Lille host Monaco at the Stade de I’Aube. While Monaco were looking to consolidate their chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season, Lille looked to make a good end to what was a disastrous campaign where they couldn’t defend their title and also couldn’t make it into the top-4 this season. 

It was an interesting tactical battle between the two teams where Monaco finally managed to hold their lead thanks to two wonderful strikes from their star boy Aurelien Tchouameni and take home the three vital points.

This tactical analysis features the tactics put forward by both the managers and discusses how Monaco were able to win the game. Lets begin the analysis.

Lineups

Monaco made two changes to their lineup that beat Angers 2-0 last season with Aurelien Tchouameni and Vanderson coming into the lineup for Eliot Matazo and Sofiane Diop. 

Lille, on the other hand, made three changes to their lineup with Djalo, Bamba and Onana coming into the lineup in place of Zhegrova, Yilmaz and the suspended Renato Sanches, who received a red card in their previous game. 

Monaco’s plan in possession against Lille’s press

Monaco lined up in a 4-3-3 system in a way to set them up to play a more direct possession-based way and Phillipe Clement has certainly emphasized a lot this season at the club. The midfield of the team is also crucial to his play as he looks to play out from the back against teams that set out to press aggressively and the likes of Tchouameni and Fofana are very important for the team to progress the ball ahead. Their 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3 shapeshifted into a three-men backline shape when one of Tchouameni or Fofana joined the defence to give them a +1 and numerical advantage against the Lille’s front two.