It is also now 15 on the bounce going back to February as Monaco surpassed the previous mark of 14 in a row established by Laurent Blanc's Bordeaux in 2009. Mbappe had been left out of the squad completely amid intensifying speculation surrounding his future.RECORD: Monaco are the first team in history to win 15 Ligue 1 games in a row:
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW New season, new players, same Monaco. ? pic.twitter.com/0oJL91TgOT— Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 18, 2017
Radamel Falcao is the first Monaco player in this century to score in each of the club's first three Ligue matches of a season. — Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) August 18, 2017The 18-year-old, who was outstanding in the second half of last season as the principality club won the title and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, wants to move to Paris Saint-Germain. The capital club and Real Madrid are both reportedly ready to pay 180m euros ($211m) for his services as they look to team him up with Neymar and Edinson Cavani in attack.
The young French international had already been left on the bench for the duration of last weekend's 4-1 win at Dijon when Falcao scored a hat-trick and the Colombian again made the difference here. The match, preceded by a minute's silence as a tribute to the victims of the terror attacks in Spain, had been heading towards a goalless draw until Falcao's intervention.Thiago Silva on Kylian Mbappé: "He always wants to score, he has a great quality of dribble. PSG is a team that loves that kind of player." pic.twitter.com/C7Icu2nNtM
— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) August 14, 2017
Leonardo Jardim on dropping Kylian Mbappé: "It was the club. When I talk about the club, it was the whole club that made the decision." pic.twitter.com/y1aLCyKOQZ— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) August 14, 2017Monaco had won 7-0 in Metz last season, their biggest ever away win in the top flight, while they also won 5-0 when the teams met at the Stade Louis II. Mbappe scored a hat-trick in that match.
Falcao and Rony Lopes tested the Metz goalkeeper Thomas Didillon in the first half but the game was still finely poised when Jardim sent on former Lyon winger Rachid Ghezzal for his Monaco debut midway through the second half. Nolan Roux threatened for Metz on the counter-attack but it was the visitor who were the most threatening and Kamil Glik's header from a corner was saved by Didillon before the winner arrived on 78 minutes.Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe is said to be undecided about his future as PSG, Real Madrid and Man City watch on. https://t.co/o6sK3CbD0Q pic.twitter.com/Ry8HtiqaXf
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) August 17, 2017
Radamel Falcao in Ligue 1 so far this season: ⚽️ vs. Toulouse ⚽️⚽️⚽️ vs. Dijon ⚽️ vs. Metz Flying start to the season. pic.twitter.com/9CtAtYfz7A— Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 18, 2017Ghezzal lifted a great ball into the box for Falcao, whose first touch took him past the goalkeeper before he slotted in his fifth goal in three league games this season. Monaco's eighth straight away league win also left Metz still without a point to their name.
Lyon are hoping to maintain their perfect start to the campaign when they host Bordeaux on Saturday. Neymar is set to make his home debut for PSG against Toulouse on Sunday following his world record 222m-euro move from Barcelona.RESULTMetz 0 Monaco 1 (Falcao 78) SATURDAY'S MATCHESLyon v Bordeaux, Montpellier v Strasbourg, Nice v Guingamp, Rennes v Dijon, Saint-Etienne v Amiens, Troyes v NantesMetz 0-1 Monaco FT:
Shots: 9-22 Possession: 46%-54% Chances created: 7-15 Pass accuracy: 76%-83% Take-ons: 9-21 15 wins on the bounce. ? pic.twitter.com/Fc9sBGDJkB— Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 18, 2017