Folarin Balogun will want to forget his first-ever Derby de la Côte d’Azur.
The U.S. men’s national team striker was denied on two penalty kick attempts, a disappointment compounded as Nice pounced with a stoppage-time winner to claim a 1-0 victory at Stade Louis II.
Balogun got the nod for Monaco, starting for the first time since a €40 million summer move from Arsenal, but had two spot kicks saved by Nice goalkeeper Marcin Bułka. Unfortunately for the USMNT striker, it was truly a day to forget.
Bułka denied Balogun for the first time in the 12th minute. Aleksandr Golovin was clipped after racing in behind the Nice defense, but Balogun couldn’t fool the Polish goalkeeper.
El INSÓLITO penal que cobraron en Francia 😳
¿Era falta de Lotomba? 👀
🍿 No te pierdas el AS Mónaco vs. Niza en vivo por beIN SPORTS Ñ.#Ligue1 🇫🇷 #ASMOGCN pic.twitter.com/XdRJrKhnuE
— beIN SPORTS Español (@ESbeINSPORTS) September 22, 2023
In the second half, the situation was only marginally different. Takumi Minamino won the penalty this time, but once again Balogun shot low and to Bułka’s right. This time Balogun offered more power, but Bułka was still quick enough to get down and block the shot.
Monaco’s suffering was compounded seconds into stoppage time, when Jeremie Boga curled home a stunning winner.
Monaco boss Hütter backs Balogun
On the plus side, Monaco manager Adi Hütter told reporters after the match that he still believes in Balogun.
“He was unlucky today, but we win together and we lose together. We have to help him a lot because he is frustrated too,” Hütter said. “He wanted to score the second penalty, but sometimes this is football in the end. We have to help him and we will.
“In the end, we have good conversations and positive communication. In the future, he will help us a lot. He is a young striker. This evening isn’t one of his best, but as I said, we win together, we lose together.”
Still, Balogun made some unwelcome history, becoming the first player in Ligue 1 to miss multiple penalties in a single game since Toifilou Maoulida did the same for Auxerre in 2007.
In his time in France, Balogun has missed three of his nine penalty attempts, with the other miss also coming against Nice last season while he was on loan with Reims.
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