Second-half improvement pleases Monaco coach Jardim

Coach Leonardo Jardim praised Monaco’s second-half performance, after they came from behind to beat 10-man Nice 2-1 in their opening Ligue 1 clash on Saturday.

Monaco trailed Valere Germain’s seventh-minute strike but the visitors hit back following Olivier Boscagli’s red card before half-time, with goals from substitute Bernardo Silva and Layvin Kurzawa after the interval.

Jardim was happy with the impact made by Silva and recruit Stephan El Shaarawy – on loan from Milan – who helped swing the match in Monaco’s favour at Allianz Riviera.

“It’s always difficult to play here against Nice,” Jardim said afterwards. “I think at the beginning of the match, during the first thirty minutes, we didn’t play well at all. Because we did not put them under any pressure, we were too low on the pitch.

“And then we made a substitution and it all changed. The end of the first half was much better and then, in the second half, we totally controlled the game.

“I know Nice very well and when they scored the first goal they played very defensively, they closed down the space, so we needed some technical players to make the difference.”