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- Monaco 5-1 Red Star Belgrade: Minamino brace helps hosts thrash Serbian side
Monaco 5-1 Red Star Belgrade: Minamino brace helps hosts thrash Serbian side
Japan international Takumi Minamino scored twice to help Monaco win 5-1 again Red Star Belgrade on Matchday 3 in the Champions League.
Monaco thrashed Red Star Belgrade 5-1 at home on Tuesday to move onto seven points after three matches in the Champions League.
Japan international Takumi Minamino was the pick of the performers, having finished the match with a brace and an assist.
Breel Embolo, Wilfried Songo and Maghnes Akliouche were the others who found the net in a one-sided victory at Stade Louis-II.
Minamino opened the scoring after 20 minutes, having broken the offside trap, but that was cancelled out by Cherif Ndiaye's penalty seven minutes later. The Senegal international had been brought down in the box by Thilo Kehrer and got back up to score the equaliser.
The Serbian side kept Monaco at bay for much of the rest of the first half, until Breel Embolo restored their lead in first-half stoppage time. After the break, this was all about the home team.
Singo hit a wonderful long-range strike to make it 3-1 nine minutes into the half before Minamino got his second 20 minutes from the end. Akliouche then finished things off with an effort that went in off the post in the final action of the match.
Red Star were, in truth, lucky to escape with just the four-goal defeat, having offered up plenty of opportunities to their hosts.
The result left them bottom of the Champions League table with zero points from three matches. Up next for them is Barcelona at home, while Monaco face a trip to Bologna.
Data debrief: Monaco make home comforts count
This victory was Monaco's third in as many meetings against Red Star Belgrade, while they have won two and drawn one in the Champions League.
The result extended their unbeaten record at home to seven matches in all competitions, including two victories out of two in Europe.
For Red Star, meanwhile, it is a more miserable picture with the five shots they attempted in this match their lowest total in the competition this season.