Monaco manager Adi Hutter was pleased with Folarin Balogun after he scored his first goal for the club in their 2-2 Ligue 1 draw with Lorient on Sunday.
The American-Nigerian moved to the Principality from Arsenal this summer and made his first start after coming off the bench in 3-0 win over Lens before the international break.
Balogun was on the scoresheet for the United States during the international break in a 4-0 friendly win over Oman and netted for Monaco in the 69th minute details to give them a 2-1 lead. Monaco were however denied all three points Romain Faivre scored deep in injury time to give Lorient a share of the spoils.
Hutter stated that Balogun’s goal was well-deserved and is a testament of the offensive options at the Austrian tactician’s disposal.
Unfortunately, we did not get the result we wanted but I am happy to get my first goal for this team! pic.twitter.com/AwybdQG9Al
— Balogun (@balogun) September 17, 2023
“I’m very happy for him and for his first goal with the Club, I think it’s deserved,” Hutter said on the club website.
“He had already scored with the USMNT during the international break. He is a player who brings other skills to the attacking third.
“But we also have players like Wissam Ben Yedder, Myron Boadu, Takumi Minamino and Aleksandr Golovin who can also bring us things offensively.”
Monaco maintain an unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with three wins and two draws from five games which puts them at the summit of the table, one point clear of second-placed Brest.
Trois changements pour le FCL. Entrée en jeu d'Igor Silva, Joël Mvuka et Benjamin Mendy à la place de Gédéon Kalulu, Julien Ponceau et Vincent Le Goff.
70' I 1-2 I #FCLASM
— FC LORIENT ???? (@FCLorient) September 17, 2023
The match also saw the return of Benjamin Mendy to the pitch after more than 700 days of inaction. The French left-back was released as a free agent from Manchester City and was found not guilty of multiple charges of rape and other-related offences. The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner came on in the 71st minute replacing Vincent Le Goff.
