AS Monaco welcomed Montpellier HSC to the Stade Louis II for their first home match since returning to Ligue 1.
Claudio Ranieri's men made it two wins out of two thanks largely to a hat-trick from Emmanuel Riviere, although Lucas Ocampos and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco were instrumental in achieving the victory.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look to see where the game was won and lost.
Match statistics
Monaco
Shots: 13
On Target: 7
Possession: 61%
Corners: 9
Fouls: 21
Montpellier
Shots: 5
On Target: 3
Possession: 39%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 15
Was the result fair?
Yes. The game hinged on a few refereeing decisions that went against Montpellier but Monaco deserved their win.
Monaco's performance
In Ocampos and Ferreira-Carrasco - both 19 - Monaco have two of the most exciting attacking midfielders in the league. The Argentine was a particular threat in the first half, while the Belgian battered Montpellier into submission in the second period. Riviere played the role of Radamel Falcao today, poaching three goals in a sort of bizarre version of a 'perfect hat-trick'. They were not exactly watertight at the back and seem to be susceptible to crosses. Ricardo Carvalho let Victor Hugo Montano get across him for Montpellier's equaliser, while Remy Cabella also found himself unmarked inside the area in the second half.
Montpellier's performance
La Pallaide were slow out of the traps this afternoon but by the time Montano equalised they were well in the game. They were unfortunate to conceded on the stroke of half time when Riviere tugged Daniel Congre's shirt before lobbing over Laurent Pionnier and never really recovered. Once the defender saw red in the 64th minute, it became a case of how much can Jean Fernandez's men could limit the damage. Montano will be pleased with his goal - a well-guided glancing header.
Referee's performance
A bit whistle-friendly. Two big decisions effectively swung the game in favour of the home side. Firstly, the referee missed Riviere pulling Congre's shirt, allowing him to race through unchecked to lob over Pionnier. It was a hammer blow right before the whistle for the visitors. In the second half, Congre saw red for hauling down Ferreira-Carrasco as he punctured the Montpellier ranks. The referee concluded that he was the last man and gave him his marching orders.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Emmanuel Riviere: Ferreira-Carrasco was probably the best player on the field but it's not often the hat-trick hero does not get the 'Man of the Match' award. Today is no different.
Biggest gaffe
You could argue it was the referee for not seeing Riviere's foul on Congre, or you could say it was Congre for getting himself sent off. Either way, both were daggers to the heart of the Montpellier cause.
What's next?
Monaco: Claudio Ranieri takes his troops to the Stadium Municipal to face Toulouse next Friday.
Montpellier: La Pallaide welcome Sochaux to the Stade de la Mosson on Saturday evening.
Michael Penkman
