Monaco cruise to victory as 16-year-old Pellegri makes history
Defending champions Monaco eased to a 4-0 home win over Dijon in French Ligue 1 on Friday as 16-year-old Pietro Pellegri carved out a little piece of history for himself.
Defending champions Monaco eased to a 4-0 home win over Dijon in French Ligue 1 on Friday as 16-year-old Pietro Pellegri carved out a little piece of history for himself.
Monaco were 1-0 up at the interval thanks to a Keita Balde goal after 13 minutes before Fabinho, with a 69th-minute penalty, Rony Lopes in the 87th minute and an injury-time strike from Polish international Kamil Glik sealing the team’s 17th win of the season.
The win took second-placed Monaco to nine points behind Paris Saint-Germain who can restore their 12-point advantage at home to Strasbourg on Saturday.
Despite the victory, it was not all plain sailing for Monaco after they lost striker Stevan Jovetic to a muscle injury in the pre-match warm-up which placed more pressure on Balde who was returning from suspension.
Meanwhile, Pellegri, at 16 years, 10 months and 30 days, became the youngest player to appear for Monaco when he came on as an 88th minute substitute.
Pellegri replaced Balde and beat the previous record held by Kylian Mbappe who was 16 years, 11 months and 13 days old when he made his debut for the club in December 2015.
The young Italian arrived at Monaco from Genoa during the transfer window where he had also been the youngest player to feature in Serie A and the first player born in the 21st century to play in the Italian championship.
More Stories
FOOTBALL: CHELSEA GO FOURTH AS SPURS SALVAGE BOURNEMOUTH DRAW
Chelsea boosted their bid to qualify for the Champions League as Marc Cucurella’s rocket sealed a 1-0 win over Leicester,...
LA LIGA: ARAMBARRI’S LATE BRACE HANDS ATLETICO SHOCK DEFEAT AGAINST GETAFE
Getafe pulled off a shocking 2-1 comeback victory over 10-man Atlético Madrid at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez on Sunday, as...
BREAKING: BARCELONA VS OSASUNA MATCH POSTPONED AFTER FIRST TEAM DOCTOR DIES
Barcelona announce their match with Osasuna has been postponed after first-team doctor Carles Miñarro Garcia died earlier in the day.Announcing...
TYSON FURY CAUTIONS JOSHUA AGAINST DUBOIS REMATCH
British boxer, Tyson Fury has cautioned Anthony Joshua against a rematch with Daniel Dubois. Fury and Joshua have a unique...
UPDATE: SEVEN HEALTHCARE WORKERS FACE JAIL MARADONA DEATH TRIAL
Seven medical personnel will stand trial next week on charges of negligence in the final days of Argentine football great...
SUPER FALCONS RETAINS GLOBAL POSITION REMAIN IST IN AFRICA-FIFA RANKING
Nigeria’s senior women’s football team, the Super Falcons, have held on to their 36th position in the latest FIFA global...