After his performance against Saint-Etienne, is AS Monaco striker Folarin Balogun really back?

Not all goals have the same meaning or flavor. Timing is never trivial and can say a lot about the direction of an evening and especially its outcome. Saturday evening, ASM had already loosened the grip thanks to Al-Musrati (2-1, 68') but it was better for them to do it again to let the money-time flow peacefully in the Chaudron. So Balogun took charge, taking the depth to the millimeter to convert Akliouche 's offering and once again shake the net.

"I thought I might be offside, so I was a little nervous about celebrating," he admitted afterward. In recent weeks, the American had been grinding away minutes and letting his legs flex when his coach decided to throw him into the fray. So, naturally, his first start since a December evening in Marseille was surrounded by a certain excitement.

Anxiety before confidence

For him, as for the crowd, who still hope to see him finally kick off his varied adventure on the Rock. "With certain injuries like my shoulder, it's difficult to get all the sensations back, " he admitted before leaving the stadium. "It takes time, and I didn't know when I would be back. I was a little anxious, but in the end, I'm glad I took the time. Now I'm really confident."

Not all of his moves were successful and wasteful passing sometimes crept into the former Reims striker's game, but his long-term absence didn't seem to have affected his reflexes or connections. His one-touch pass for the first goal added speed to the action and demonstrated a flair that hasn't faded. "He's a player I like ," said Krépin Diatta. "During the week I told him: 'You're back and I think you can help us a lot.'" Balogun did so by making a real mark on the match, as he was also involved in the second goal with a cross. A winning return after seven months of struggle.

Just when we thought she was finally off to a flying start with three goals in three games in the heart of autumn, her season came to a halt when her shoulder dislocated . A few weeks in the infirmary, a promising return to Marseille and a relapse that forced her to go into surgery to strengthen the structure then slowed her momentum. This left some doubts about the rest of the season and what should have been her real home in the Principality.

"Everyone knows Balo ," says Diatta, who doesn't need much prodding to compliment his number 9. "When he got injured, he was on the rise, scoring three goals in a row. That handicapped us a bit. He's a player who often plays deep, who allows us to stretch the opposing defense to give freedom to the number 10s. We saw his importance, he made a lot of runs, he made a difference. We needed his help."

The Gunners Connection

And he has opportunities to express his talent again, almost two years after his arrival for a sum estimated around 30 million with a goalscoring status in the luggage. If Biereth 's injury does not prove too serious, the pair could hurt against OL. "We combined well for the first goal," Balogun confirms . "I'm familiar with him, we played together at Arsenal so we have a good connection. With Breel too, we try to get closer and closer."

In mid-April, Embolo described his American colleague as "introverted," but the two men have complementary profiles and offer an interesting choice for Hütter. A coach who is naturally delighted to have another ace up his sleeve.