Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole for live commentary of Monaco's Ligue 1 clash with Montpellier HSC at at Stade Luis II.

First off, let's get some team news...

MONACO: Subasic; Fabinho, Kurzawa, Carvalho, Abidal; Toulalan, Obbadi, Ocampos, Carrasco, Riviere; Falcao

MONTPELLIER: Pionnier, Congre, Hilton, Tiene, Deplagne, Marveaux, Mounier, Stambouli, Herrera, Camara, Montano

Let's delve a in the recent - and no-so-recent - history of this fixture a little bit. Monaco have hosted Montpellier on 19 previous occasions, winning 12, drawing six and losing just the once.

The first top-flight meeting between these two clubs was in March 1982, which Monaco won 1-0. The principality club came out on top the last time they played as well, which was on the penultimate weekend on the 2011 season, with Benjamin Moukandjo scoring the winner. However, a 2-0 defeat to
Lyon a week later saw them relegated from Ligue 1.

Debut goals from Emmanuel Riviere and Radamel Falcao saw Claudio Ranieri's men triumph 2-0 over Bordeaux on the opening day of the season at the Stade Chaban Delmas.

Montpellier had to work for a 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain, despite Remy Cabella giving them the lead early on at the Stade de la Mosson. A second-half striker from Maxwell levelled the scores, but the home side had to play the last 18 minutes with 10 men following Abdelhamid El Kaoutari's red card.

As the teams come out on the pitch, let's refresh your memory of last week...

MONTPELLIER 1-1 PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN

BORDEAUX 0-2 MONACO

KICKOFF! Montpellier get the game underway at the Stade Louis II...

Mounier brings down Obbadi and it's a free kick just inside the Montpellier half. An early chance for Monaco to exert some pressure, but it comes to nothing. Ocampos tries to bend the ball into the to corner with his left peg but is way off target.

CHANCE! Route-one football from Monaco, as Riviere rolls his marker to latch onto Toulalan's long ball, but Pionnier gets his legs in the way. It was a tight angle for Riviere, he tried to sneak it in the near post.

CHANCE! Carvalho is unmarked from a corner but mucks it up, skewing his header wide. That was a decent opportunity. Before that, Ocampos nearly crafted a goal for himself inside the box after Riviere had been sent racing down the right. It's the home side making all the running early on at the Stade Louis II.

CHANCE! Montpellier threaten for the first time! Great work from Cabella down the left, as he clips a cross in for Montano, who heads wide. He should be at least hitting the target from there.

It was Lucas Ocampos who won the spot kick after tormenting Siaka Tiene down the right-hand side. After flicking the ball over his head, and twisting one way then the other, the defender brought him down and the referee rightly pointed to the spot. Falcao made no mistake, sending the keeper the wrong way. The moneybags Monegasques lead.

Well that came from absolutely nowhere! Tidy play down the right from the Montpellier allowed Stambouli some space to cross and he put the ball into a dangerous area. Montano did the rest, getting across his marker brilliantly before burying a header past Danijel Subasic.

The visitors have settled into the game and it's more of a contest now. It looked early on as if the home side might just run right through them but to their credit Jean Fernandez's men have steadied the ship.

Falcao is bundled down and wins a free kick for Monaco. The ball is sent into the box and Riviere finds himself unmarked but spoons a header well over the bar. Not really a chance but he should have done better.

There's no real sign of the free-flowing attacking football you'd expect from the money spent by Claudio Ranieri this summer. They started well enough, but since then it's often been long balls from the back. It's not proving too effective.

Pretty much the same tactic from the visitors, though, as Siaka Tiene goes searching for Montano but massively overs hits the pass.

Falcao hits the deck once again and gets a free kick. Ferreira Carrasco delivers, but delivers poorly. Easily cleared by the Montpellier defence.

Deplagne comes up from the back and has a real go at Tiene, winning his team a corner. No chances come of it, but the full-back put the frighteners on his opposite number there.

I just had a big paragraph typed out about how the game was even and that neither side were really threatening to score... and then Riviere races through and lobs the ball over Pionnier. What a finish, capped off by a couple of backflips.

BOOKING! As the Monaco players were celebrating, the referee brandished a yellow card to Victor Hugo Montano for a deliberate handball. It looked harsh.

HALF TIME: Monaco 2-1 Montpellier

Apologies, but if you could stand by for 10 minutes while I try to correct some of the technical difficulties I'm experiencing on my end. I will be back for the second half, don't you worry about that!

OK, we're back. Sorry about that folks. Anyway, let's have a recap on the first half...

Claudio Ranieri's men were fast out of the traps and had a couple of chances to take the lead before the referee awarded a penalty for Siaka Tiene's challenge on Lucas Ocampos. The Argentine has easily been the best player of the first half.

Montano's equaliser was a cracking finish. The Colombian stole a march on Carvalho and guided a header beyond Subasic and into the corner of the net.

Wtahcing replays of Riviere's goal, and I can see why the Montpellier players were angry that it was allowed to stand. The 23-year-old flicked the ball over Congre's head and as he goes around the defender he is pulling on his shirt. The referee was blind-sighted slightly, and it allowed Riviere to get away from Congre before lifting the ball over Pionnier. That goal should have been disallowed.

KICKOFF! Monaco get the second half underway...

The home side had 65% of possession in that first half, while having seven shots on goal. Only two were on target, however, but they both ended up in the back of the net. Not a bad strike rate, but not the best accuracy either.

SHOT! Montano has a go from distance but Subasic deals with it. At the second time, mind.

CHANCE! Stambouli finds Cabella in the area but his header is a poor one and Subasic watches it go safely wide.

BOOKING! Jeremy Toulalan joins Montano in the referee's notebook. Benjamin Stambouli also received a yellow card after remonstrating too vigourously in the aftermath of Riviere's goal.

SAVE! Oh my word, what a brilliant stop from Pionnier! Good work from Ferreria-Carrasco down the right, and he crosses in for Ocampos but the Argentine is denied by a one-handed save.

Pionnier's save only delayed Monaco extending their advtantage, as The resulting corner is swung in for Riviere to apply the finish. Somewhat bundled in with the knee/shin combo. Still, the hosts are now 3-1 in front!

MONTPELLIER SUBSTITUTION: Djamel Bakar comes on to replace Anthony Mounier.

RED CARD! (CONGRE) An absolutely lung-bursting run through the centre from Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco has the Montpellier defence in a tangle. Congre pulls him down and the referee has no hesitation in reaching for his cards. It's just outside the area so Pionnier will not have to face another spot kick but Montpellier's task is so much harder now.

It's a hot day in the principality and the players are being allowed to take on fluids. Monaco are in control of this one, they look threatening every time the break forward. With a man advantage, this could be a big score. I expect Montpellier will try to perform some damage limitation.

Lucas Ocampos and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco have been brilliant today. Falcao hasn't really been involved, but when is he ever until the ball is in that penalty box? Emmanuel Riviere has done an excellent job of dropping deep to support the midfield as well as getting involved in attack. A really busy performance and it has been rewarded with two goals, possibly more.

Camara still trying to make something happen for Montpellier, skirting past a couple of challenges but eventually running into a Carvalho-sized wall.

MONTPELLIER SUBSTITUTION: Bryan Dabo comes on to replace Joris Marveaux in midfield.

Monaco have just slowed the pace down in the last five minutes and that's allowing Montpellier to see more of the ball. Siaka Tiene has a chance to deliver the ball into the box from a free kick but gets it all wrong. Goal kick to Monaco and they try to bring the ball out from the back.

GOAL! Monaco 4-1 Montpellier (Riviere) And there's the hat trick for Riviere! Ferreira-Carrasco once again torments the Montpellier defence, drifing in from the left and driving low at goal. His shot takes a few deflections and sits up kindly for the 23-year-old to nod home his fourth goal of the Ligue 1 campaign.

MONACO SUBSTITUTION: Emmanuel Riviere comes off to rapturous applause and will be replaced by Valere Germain.

BOOKING! Siaka Tiene receives a yellow card for a foul on Toulalan.

MONACO SUBSTITUTION: Mounir Obaddi makes way for Delvin Ndinga.

MAN OF THE MATCH! Emmanuel Riviere. Lucas Ocampos and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco have been at the centre of everything Monaco have done today but the man putting in the net will always get the plaudits. Especially if he does it three times.

Monaco going for a fifth late on. Kurzawa has a dig, he catches it well but it flies miles off target.

Deplagne goes on a sortie down the right once more and feeds Ndinga inside the box, but his low cross is cleared from danger.

FULL TIME: AS Monaco 4-1 Montpellier HSC

Very good performance from Monaco, who dealt well with a capable enough Montpellier outfit. Ultimately, it was the trinity of Ocampos, Ferreira-Carrasco and Riviere that made the difference today. Still Rodriguez and Moutinho to come in as well.

That's all from us at SM - thanks for coming along. Hope to see you again soon.