Barcelona’s loanee Ansu Fati is slowly turning the script. In France, his revival gathered serious momentum on Sunday. The Spanish forward netted twice off the bench to inspire AS Monaco to a 5-2 victory over Metz at the Stade Louis II.
The performance not only lifted Monaco to second place in Ligue 1 but also underlined the 22-year-old’s remarkable return to form after a long barren spell, putting in a performance that forced Monaco to push to have the Spaniard in France on loan alongside Paul Pogba.
Fati, who scored in Monaco’s Champions League clash with Club Brugge earlier this month, wasted no time after replacing Paris Brunner at halftime. Softfootball reports that, just 36 seconds into his introduction, he latched onto a clever ball inside the box and coolly slotted it past Jonathan Fischer to give Monaco a 2-1 lead. Though Metz pulled level with a penalty from Gauthier Hein in the 67th minute, Fati struck again 16 minutes later, rising highest to head home Krépin Diatta’s pinpoint cross.
It was a performance reminiscent of his early days at Barcelona, when he was tipped as one of Europe’s brightest young stars. Having endured injuries and a difficult loan spell at Brighton, Fati’s three goals in two games ending a 679-day drought, have reignited belief in his potential.
Speaking after the game in an interview uploaded on the club’s official X handle, the Spaniard stressed the importance of getting all three points as they are now level on points with PSG, who saw their game against Marseille postponed today due to bad weather.
Watch the video below:
They also posted another video on the team’s official X account of Paul Pogba teasing Fati and even claiming to know he was going to score.
Watch the video below:
The rest of the match provided further drama. Metz had stunned the hosts with an early opener from Habib Diallo, but Mika Biereth’s close-range finish and an own goal from Koffi Kouao restored order for Monaco. Substitute George Ilenikhena added a fifth in stoppage time to seal a dominant win for Adi Hütter’s men.
Monaco are now unbeaten in 11 home matches (W10, D1), while struggling Metz remain rooted to the bottom of the Ligue 1 table without a victory since their return to the top flight.
