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LIGUE 1: Niang goal not enough for Auxerre as 17-year-old steals the show for Monaco

Monaco's 17-year-old forward making his Ligue 1 debut for the club scored twice to render M'Baye Niang's goal a consolation for Auxerre
Auxerre fought bravely but they were outdone by a 17-year-old who seems destined for greatness
Auxerre fought bravely but they were outdone by a 17-year-old who seems destined for greatness

Senegalese forward M’Baye Niang opened the scoring for Auxerre in their eventual 3-2 loss at home against Monaco.

The striker scored from the penalty spot in the 30th minute after a foul on winger Lassine Sinayoko to give Auxerre a 1-0 lead, but they were pegged back by Wissam Ben Yedder’s penalty before halftime.

The Eliesse Ben Seghir show

Monaco then took the lead through 17-year-old substitute Eliesse Ben Seghir who replaced Ben Yedder after halftime and scored to make it 2-1 to Monaco.

Auxerre were handed a lifeline when Monaco’s French midfielder Youssouf Fofana put through his own goal to restore parity between the two sides.

The game looked like it was heading for a stalemate, until the lad Ben Seghir popped up again to steal all three points for Monaco with an 85th minute winner.

At only 17 years and 315 days old, Ben Seghir became the second youngest player to score a brace for Monaco in Ligue 1, and the youngest since a certain Thierry Henry did so in 1995 against Lens aged 17 years and 255 days. 

This was Ben Seghir’s first ever Ligue 1 game and only his second competitive fixture for Monaco and by the looks of things, Monaco might have another surreal young forward on their hands.

Other Ligue 1 fixtures

In other Ligue 1 fixtures, Moses Simon and Jean-Charles Catelletto were unable to rescue Nantes from a 0-0 draw away to Troyes as they remained in the relegation conversation.

Angers were without the Moroccan duo of Sofiane Boufal and Azzedine Ounahi as they succumbed to their 12th defeat in 16 Ligue 1 fixtures.

They remain rooted to the bottom of the league with eight points and are an early shoe-in for relegation.

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