Highlight Brest 2 - 0 Monaco: Brest break Ligue 1 duck in style

Franck Honorat’s late strike sealed a precious three points for Brest who shone to earn an unlikely 2-0 victory over in-form Monaco. Mercifully, victory called time on a torrid 11-game winless run which kicked off the 'Pirates’ Ligue 1 campaign, while a first clean sheet of the season made their afternoon’s work even sweeter. 

What the Stade Francis-Le Blé lacks in size, the Brest faithful make up for in passion and their support was swiftly rewarded by Steve Mounié. A whipped free-kick was flicked on perfectly by Jérémy Le Douaron, leaving the Benin international with the simplest of tasks to lash in at the far post. 

Monaco’s Caio Henrique was left seething, however, when replays of his foul that led to Brest’s opener clearly showed his shirt being pulled. Minutes later, Mounié came within a foot of doubling the advantage when his powerful drive narrowly cleared the bar, and during a first half in which the visitors created very little, manager Niko Kovač’s touchline yellow card was a sign of their frustration.

Minutes after the break, Monaco got their first clear opening of the game, although when Jean Lucas’ pinpoint cross was met at the back post, pacey winger Gelson Martins proved why he is not the one they wanted on the end of it. 

Put simply, strikers Wissam Ben Yedder and Kevin Volland carried nowhere near the threat that their 37-goal partnership last season would suggest, and Brest forward Honorat made them pay with 10 minutes to play by finishing off a textbook counter-attack for his fourth goal of the season.

Although The 'Monégasques' can boast the youngest average starting line-up in Europe’s top five leagues this season, defeat leaves them languishing in mid-table after falling just six points short of Ligue 1 glory last term. Brest, meanwhile, have flirted with relegation since returning to the top-flight in 2019, and these three points could prove crucial on their quest for safety this time around.