Revived Minamino of Japan leads Monaco's lead with three goals and two assists in three games
Minamino Takumi sings of resurrection in France. Minamino is an attacking midfielder with delicate basic skills. In the 2019-2020 season, he began to make his name known in Red Bull Salzburg, along with Elling Holan and Hwang Hee-chan in the offensive team. Liverpool, which faced off in the UEFA Champions League at the time, even recruited Minamino through the winter transfer market. However, in Liverpool, disadvantages were highlighted more than advantages. Minamino has rarely adapted to the English Premier League (EPL) stage, which has a much stronger pressure and physique than the Austrian league. Liverpool had no players like Holan or Hwang Hee-chan who could hold out in front of them. It is in line with this that Southampton, which had been on a winter lease in the 2020-2021 season, also failed to win the starting lineup. In the end, he left Liverpool last summer and moved to AS Monaco. The first season was still sluggish. There were more games that stayed on the bench than games that were pushed out of the main competition. The turnaround began with the appointment of coach Adi Whitter this summer. Last season Monaco mainly used the 4-4-2 format, but this season they are using the 3-4-2-1. Whitter picked Minamino as a second-line attacking midfielder along with Alexandre Golovin. It was the best condition for Minamino to play. Minamino began to spread the wings of resurrection. After helping Clermont score the first goal in the league's first match, he scored two goals and one assist against Strasbourg to create all three of his team's goals. He also laid the foundation for a draw against Nantes. Minamino shook the net in the 27th minute of the first half when he was trailing 0-2, connecting Kaiu Enhiki's cross with a header. Monaco drew 3–3 with Nantes thanks to goals scored by Wissam Benjeder and Myron Boadou. With Minamino's performance, Monaco also participated in the lead competition for the first time in a long time. He finished sixth last season and wants to make up for his disappointing performance.