Folarin Balogun’s first start for AS Monaco did not go as planned when the player missed two penalties against Nice.
Folarin Balogun had the opportunity to give Monaco the lead from the penalty spot against Nice. However, Balogun’s shot was quite gentle and goalkeeper Marcin Bulka made a simple save for the away team.
Balogun had a second chance early in the second half after Takumi Minamino won another penalty. But once again Balogun could not defeat Bulka. The American striker was removed from the field not long after, replaced by Wissam Ben Yedder.
In the end, Monaco lost to Nice. The away team scored a goal in injury time thanks to Jeremie Boga. This makes Balogun’s missed kicks even more painful for the Duchy team.
Last week, Balogun showed promise when he scored a goal against Lorient despite coming from the bench. He was expected to perform well in his first start for Monaco but it ended in a disaster.
Last season, Balogun made a splash in Ligue 1 with 21 goals scored for Reims. The 22-year-old player was bought permanently by Monaco for 30 million Euros from Arsenal last summer. But with poor preparation in the summer, Balogun is still in the process of building his fitness at Monaco.
During this September’s team training, Balogun only played a total of 90 minutes in 2 matches for the US. He contributed 1 goal in 2 friendly matches against weaker opponents, Uzbekistan and Oman.