AS Monaco built some distance between themselves and Nantes this evening as a solitary goal from Bernardo Silva saw Leonardo Jardim's side to a 1-0 victory over Les Canaris at the Stade Louis II.
Nantes sought to test the hosts early on in the encounter as Alejandro Bedoya took aim from distance, only to see his effort fly high and wide of the goal without troubling Danijel Subasic.
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The visitors troubled again in the eighth minute, this time as Serge Gakpe forced a smart stop from the Monaco keeper with a dangerous effort that was kept out at the top-right corner.
Monaco looked to the counter as one of their options and it almost paid off when Silva broke away at pace, but young forward Anthony Martial fired wide from the right side of the box.
Despite holding the majority of the ball, Monaco failed to do much with it, as Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco showed his frustration with a wild effort from range, which failed to threaten.
The second half moved in the same turgid fashion as the first, but Monaco finally made their possessional dominance count when Silva fired home into the centre of goal in the 73rd minute.
Yacine Bammou might have stolen a point late on for Nantes, only for the striker's effort to fly just a few inches past the top corner with Subasic looking a little troubled.
Christopher Dodd
