Slimani shining as Monaco resurgence gathers pace

Monaco started the season poorly having failed to win their opening six league matches. Despite Leonardo Jardim’s Stade Louis II return, the 2016/17 champions, who staved off relegation last season, looked as though they’d follow the same path this time out, even after a summer of hefty investment.

 10 new faces came in in the window, but the star man isn’t even a permanent arrival. The return of Tiemoue Bakayoko may have garnered more fanfare, yet it’s Islam Slimani who has earned the adulation. The Algerian endured a torrid couple of years in both England and Turkey and few will have predicted Slimani making a sustained impact for Monaco. Rather, the 31-year-old is thriving in France.

 Back-to-back wins over rivals Nice and Brest has seen Monaco pull away from danger, albeit by a single point, but it’s very much a step in the right direction. Given two of their seven league wins in 2019 have come in the last week, Slimani’s immediate impact in France has been welcomed with open arms.

 Such a fine start to life in Jardim’s side has seen Slimani quickly establish himself as Ligue 1’s top rated player with a WhoScored rating of 8.35. For context, Lille’s Victor Osimhen is second in the standings, with a 7.58. Many may have felt that Slimani’s excellent opening outings for Monaco were a mere flash in the pan, but an excellent September saw the striker named the WhoScored player of the month with a WhoScored rating of 8.52.

 Indeed, Slimani scored more goals (3) and registered more assists (4) than any other player in France’s top tier in September, which included man of the match displays against Strasbourg and Brest. In fact, since making the move to France, Slimani has failed to have a direct hand in a goal in just one of his five appearances, that occurring in Monaco’s entertaining 4-3 home loss at the hands of fellow south-of-France counterparts Marseille.

 While only a loan capture, Monaco will likely look to make his move permanent at the end of the season, particularly if Slimani maintains the same form that made him a household name in Portugal with Sporting prior to his Leicester move in 2016. It’s a similar case for Bakayoko, whose return to Monaco has been a huge boost to the side.

 The duo made the Ligue 1 team of the month for September, with Bakayoko (7.76) appearing alongside Lucas Deaux (7.46) in the middle of the park, the latter one of three Nimes players to make the cut. Slimani, meanwhile, partners Osimhen (7.52) in attack, who scored twice and provided two assists for Lille in September.

 It’s Slimani, though, who takes home the plaudits from WhoScored for September and Jardim and Monaco will be hoping he can maintain his stunning start to life in France this weekend at Montpellier and fire Les Rouges et Blancs to a third successive win and head into the international break on a high.