Tosin, Balogun trade goals for Lorient, Monaco as Super Eagles star miss Ligue 1 thriller

The two players of Nigerian descent stole the show at the Stade du Moustoir

Super Eagles midfielder Bonke Innocent was missing in action as FC Lorient forced visiting AS Monaco to a 2-2 draw in a matchday five clash in the Ligue 1 on Sunday, Soccernet.ng reports. 

Innocent has seen only four minutes of action in Ligue 1 this season, with his absence largely unexplained by Lorient or the player.

Against Monaco, Lorient manager Régis Le Bris deployed Julien Ponceau and Laurent Abergel in the centre of the park.

The tactical setup appeared to have worked great as Benin Republic forward Ayegun Tosin gave the home side the lead in the second minute.

But Monaco gave the perfect response 15 minutes later through a fine strike from Russian winger Aleksandr Golovin.

Nothing separated the two teams until the 69th minute when former Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun, who was introduced from the bench two minutes earlier, put Monaco ahead for the first time in the encounter.

But deep into stoppage time, Lorient’s number ten Romain Faivre smashed home the equaliser to ensure a share of the points with the visitors.

The point sends Monaco to the top of the Ligue 1 table with 11 points, ahead of second-place Reims with ten points and OGC Nice with nine.

It would be recalled that Super Eagles striker Terem Moffi scored twice and assisted the other in a man-of-the-match display to inspire Nice to a thrilling 2-3 win away at Kylian Mbappe’s PSG.