The reigning Ligue 1 champions will be looking for a measure of revenge after being thrashed 4-1 by PSG in last year's final. "He (Falcao) hadn't scored in three games but everyone knows he's a big player and all players know there are times when they don't score," said Monaco coach Jardim. "Now we have time to think about the final, we will prepare better for the final than last season."Falcao with another goal for Monaco. Maybe Chelsea should have signed him again ? pic.twitter.com/3nXGlNFoQw
— Goal (@goal) January 31, 2018
The hosts started brightly, with Andrea Raggi seeing a shot well saved by Montpellier goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte, but they didn't have to wait long to take the lead. Full-back Djibril Sidibe burst his way through before laying the ball off for captain Falcao to sweep home. Monaco thought they had been awarded a penalty just seconds later when Stevan Jovetic was brought down by Lecomte, but a VAR review showed that the keeper had played the ball before taking down the Montenegrin international.Next stop...FINAL! Well done boys! #CoupedelaLigue @AS_Monaco ???⚪️ pic.twitter.com/NAM3wIr2sZ
— Stevan Jovetić (@sjovetic) February 1, 2018
Montpellier, who were thrashed 4-0 by PSG at the weekend, continued to struggle and Monaco doubled their lead in the 29th minute. Fabinho unlocked the away defence with a clever pass, before Lopes broke free and crossed for Falcao to tap in his 22nd goal of the season in all competitions. Lopes thought he had added further gloss to the scoreline with 22 minutes to play, but another referral to the VAR showed that Falcao was narrowly offside before laying the ball back to the Portuguese midfielder. PSG continued their bid for a fifth straight League Cup title by edging to a 3-2 win at Rennes in the first semi-final on Tuesday, as they held off a spirited fightback from the hosts after Kylian Mbappe was sent off on a VAR decision.RESULTS:Monaco 2 (Falcao 15, 29) Montpellier 0? Last 27 home games against @MontpellierHSC : ? 18 W ? 8 D ? 1 L#ASMMHSC pic.twitter.com/cxRLcrMBb3
— AS Monaco EN (@AS_Monaco_EN) January 31, 2018