Jardim: Monaco are not clinical enough

Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim was left to rue his team’s wastefulness in front of goal after Reims snatched a 1-1 draw in the principality.

Jardim bemoaned another performance by his side where they were “not clinical enough” and called on his young forwards to take the next step in the absence of last season’s star attackers Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Emmanuel Riviere.

Falcao, Rodriguez and Riviere scored 28 of Monaco’s 63 goals in Ligue 1 last season.

But with all three having left the club, Jardim has challenged the likes of Anthony Martial (18 years old), Valere Germain (24), Bernardo Silva (20), Yannick Ferreira Carrasco (21) and Lacina Traore (24) to become Monaco’s leading marksmen – something they have failed to do so far this campaign.

Monaco sit seventh in the Ligue 1 standings after Friday’s draw at home with Reims – seven points behind leaders Marseille – and they are struggling to put the ball in the net, with 1.16 goals per match this season, down from 1.66 in 2013-14.

“We are not clinical enough. We have lots of chances in every match,” Jardim said.

“That was the case today, five or six times. That was the case at Bastia. The youngsters need to progress. They are going to progress.

“It is a different year for them, the youngsters, who have more responsibility. Martial, Carrasco, Germain, Traore, they all had good chances.

“If we scored 50 per cent of them, the match would have finished 3-1. It is two points lost.”

Monaco hit the front at the Stade Louis II after just 19 minutes with Uwa Echiejile finishing on a tight angle from Silva’s cross.

But after wasting another 11 shots, including four more on target, Monaco ended the game with just one point, following Benjamin Moukandjo’s tap-in on the break from Nicolas de Preville’s incisive pass in the 80th minute – just seconds after Carrasco had blasted a shot straight at Reims goalkeeper Johny Placide.

“We had lots of chances to score the second goal. Football is like that,” Jardim said.

“When you don’t score the second, the opposition counter-attack and score.”

Carrasco is Monaco’s equal-leading goal-scorer in Ligue 1 this term with two goals, level with Dimitar Berbatov and Germain.