Reims welcomed AS Monaco in the stand-out tie of the Coupe de la Ligue third round at Stade Auguste Delaune on Wednesday night.
The home side have a great recent record against France's biggest sides on their own turf but Monaco were still unbeaten heading into the match.
However, Reims pulled off one of the shocks of the round and edge past Monaco in a thrilling encounter.
Read how the match unfolded in our live commentary below.
Good evening and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the Coupe de la Ligue third round tie between Reims and AS Monaco.
This is the tie that caught the eye when the draw was made for this round of games, with AS Monaco entering the fray early despite their battle at the top of Ligue 1 for title. Having won Ligue 2 last term, Claudio Ranieri's side enter the competition at this stage due to their absence from any European football.
Meanwhile, Reims sit 10th in Ligue 1 and were unlucky to only draw with Monaco when they met in the league earlier this month. They have a good record at home against the big boys, and beat Paris Saint-Germain here last season.
Right, not a lot of time for build-up as kickoff is just over 10 minutes away, so let's get you the team news.
REIMS XI: Placide, Fofana, Mandi, Turan, Weber, Atar, Ca, Devaux, Krychowiak, Charbonnier, Fortes
Hubert Fournier has made as many as eight changes to his side following their impressive 3-2 win at Marseille on Saturday.
Kossi Agassa, Franck Signorino, Mickael Tacalfred, Mads Albaek, Prince Oniangue, Floyd Ayite, Gaetan Courtet and Nicolas de Preville have all been dropped for this match.
Meanwhile, Johny Placide, Mohamed Fofana, Atila Turan, Eliran Atar, Bocundji Ca, Antoine Devaux, Gaetan Charbonnier and Odair Fortes all come into the team.
Here is the bench.
REIMS BENCH: Agassi, Tacalfred, Albaek, Oniangue, Ayite, Courtet, De Preville
Time for Monaco.
MONACO XI: Romero, Fabinho, Isimat-Mirin, Lopez, Raggi, Kondogbia, Ocampos, Poulsen, Toulalan, Germain, Riviere
Claudio Ranieri has gone one better than his opposite manager and has made nine changes to the team that beat Lyon on Sunday.
Danijel Subasic, Eric Abidal, Ricardo Carvalho, Layvin Kurzawa, Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco, Joao Moutinho, Mounir Obbadi, James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao have all been rested.
While on the other hand, Sergio Romero, Fabinho, Nicolas Isimat-Mirin, Borja Lopez, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Lucas Ocampos, Jakob Poulsen, Valere Germain and Emmanuel Riviere all come in.
And now for the Monaco bench.
MONACO BENCH: Roma, Carvalho, Tisserand, Obbadi, Pi, Rodriguez, Martial
The teams are both out and we're ready for kick off.
KICK OFF! The match is underway, Reims playing to the left with Monaco playing the reverse.
No real chances as of yet, but Reims have started on the frontfoot.
Reims are really on the front foot, but Monaco have a lot of men back at the moment and the hosts can't create a clear chance.
Good break from Monaco, as Ocampos surges down the right wing before whipping a cross in towards Riviere, but Mandi was able to clear for Reims.
Emmanuel Riviere, you may remember, started the Ligue 1 season in blistering form and was the division's top scorer for a number of weeks. However, his game time has rapidly decrease since James Rodriguez recovered from injury, but Riviere will be determined to force his way back into the first team with a performance tonight.
Monaco are now starting to take control, with Germain just having a shot deflected narrowly wide from inside the box for a corner.
It's not the greatest delivery in the world, and Reims can clear.
It's been a good game so far the tempo is fairly high, both teams are going for it.
CHANCE! Oh so close to Reims taking the lead there. Turan leaves Fabinho for dead on the left and the puts a teasing low cross into the box. Fortes is closing on a tap-in at the far post, but Romero is able to get a touch and deflect the cross away. Nice play.
CHANCE! From the same move, Monaco have just gone on the counter and could have had a goal of their own. The cross is played in by Ocampos on the right, but Riviere cannot keep his header down.
Nice attack from Reims as the ball is worked to Charbonnier on the edge of the box. He turns and smashes a shot towards goal but it's blocked by Isimat-Mirin and out for a corner.
The corner isn't testing from Reims, and Monaco can hack away the danger.
YELLOW CARD Geoffrey Kondogbia is the first man into the notebook, and Ranieri is absolutely blasting the referee for the decision on the touchline. Nonetheless it will be a free kick, and Kondogbia did get away with a heavy challenge earlier.
Reims come forward once more as Fortes bursts down the left, he gets control of the ball and tries to pick out Charbonnier, but Monaco can clear.
The games become a bit scrappy over the past few minutes, both sides are starting to put in some heavy or late challenges.
To be fair to the referee though, he is trying to let the play go on where he can, and hasn't tried to book everyone in site.
GOAL! Reims 1-0 Monaco (Antoine Devaux)
Just like when these sides met in the league, Reims take the lead. It's a lovely worked goal as well, Turan is threaded through on the left of the box and he chips a lovely cross into a busy penalty area where Devaux easily beats Isimat to the ball and nods it past Romero into the bottom corner.
Isimat really should have put up more of a battle against Devaux in the air there, but let's take nothing away from the attack, it was a great move from the hosts.
Nearly an instant second goal for the hosts. Devaux has the ball in space on the right of the box, and he tries to play it inside to one of Charbonnier or Fortes, but Isimat can make a last-ditch interception. What a vital moment that could be.
YELLOW CARDS There's a bit of handbags here after Toulalan crashed into a tackle. As a result, Lucas Ocampos and Bocundji Ca have gone into the book for their involvement.
OFF THE BAR! Agonising moment for Monaco, and so nearly a stunning equaliser. The ball is passed to Kondogbia who is at least 30 yards from go. The defensive midfielder takes a touch to get it out in front of his feet and crashes an effort that comes off the underside of the bar and bounces on the line. You can't get much closer than that.
CLOSE! Another close moment for Monaco. Ocampos curls in a teasing cross from the right which escapes Germain on the edge of the six-yard box and goes out for a goal kick. The striker was a whisker away from making connection there.
We have a break in play as the referee is having words with a very angry and animated Claudio Ranieri. It's really heating up here, both teams want this so bad. It's a great cup tie.
Charbonnier gets his head to a cross but it's comfortably wide. He knew he couldn't trouble the Monaco goal from that angle.
We'll have one added minute.
HALF TIME: Reims 1-0 AS Monaco
Well that brings an end to a very entertaining first half. There may have been a lot of changes but both sides are taking this tie very seriously. There has been goalmouth action, heavy tackles and managerial outbursts as well as much more.
Antoine Devaux is the only man to have taken his chance so far in what has been an even first half to send Reims into the break a goal to the good.
Monaco are making their way back out onto the field to boos at the Stade Auguste Delaune.
Now Reims join them to mass cheers.
KICK OFF! Reims, playing from right to left, get the match back underway.
CLOSE! First chance of the half falls Monaco's way as Germain gathers in the ball on the right side of the box before drilling a low shot across the face of goal and just wide of the far post.
SAVE! Charbonnier hits a swirling strike from just outside the box which moves in the air, but Romero is able to palm the ball clear.
SAVE! Now Placide is called into action as Fabinho breaks forward and gets on the end of a passing move before hitting an effort on goal, but the Reims stopper can make the block with his legs.
Needless to say, it's be a very busy start to the second half.
Monaco come forward in numbers and Ocampos has the ball in the middle. He opts to try to finesse it into the bottom corner from outside the box, but it was never going to get past Placide.
Reims have worked a few good positions but have just lapsed at the last moment and strayed offside.
CLOSE! Monaco yet again come close to a leveller as Germain's shot is blocked by a sliding Krychowiak, which then loops into the sky and looks to be dipping in under the crossbar, until Placide can furiously backpeddle and tip the ball away.
MONACO CHANGES Ocampos and Toulalan have been replaced by Pi and James Rodriguez.
OFF THE BAR! Monaco hit the frame of the goal for a second time in this match. This time a deep free kick into the box is only half cleared by Reims to the edge of the box, where Fabinho runs onto it a lashes a shot against the bar.
MISS! Reims should be leading 2-0 now. A corner is played in from the right which takes a few touches on it's way through to the far post where Krychowiak is lurking. He has time, but slides into a shot and skies it over the bar. He's evidently annoyed with himself as he punches the floor while maintaining the look of a psychopath with a Terry Butcher style bandage around his forehead.
Pi has a go from range but converts it well over the target, much to the disgust of his teammate Germain.
YELLOW CARD Fabinho goes into the book for a heavy collision with Turan that has left the Reims man limping.
REIMS CHANGE Ca is being replaced by Prince Oniangue, who scored the dramatic late winner at Marseille on Saturday.
MONACO CHANGE Martial is on in place of Jakob Poulsen.
13 minutes to go, and Monaco need to at least find one goal to force extra time.
Rodriguez has the ball of the edge of the D and dribbles past two before tamely shooting straight at Placide.
REIMS CHANGE Floyd Ayite is making his way on for Eliran Atar.
REIMS CHANGE Final alteration for Reims as De Preville is on in place of Fortes.
Five minutes of normal time to go, and at this rate, Monaco are falling at the first hurdle.
Another chance goes begging for Monaco, Tacalfred cuts a bobbling cross back to the edge of the box for Rodriguez, but he gets right underneath it and skies it into orbit.
Pi pings a low drive from 25 yards out which skims across the surface and forces Placide into thumbling it behind for a corner.
It's all Monaco right now, and Reims just need to try to keep possession of the ball. They're so close now.
There will be three minutes of added time. Three minutes for Monaco to save themselves.
The Stade Auguste Delaune is jumping! They can sense they're onto a shock win here.
We're into the final minute of the match.
SAVE! Oniangue has the chance to kill the game off, but Romero punches the ball behind.
FULL TIME: Reims 1-0 AS Monaco
And that's it! Monaco are out!
One of the pre-tournament favourites have fallen at the first hurdle thanks to an Antoine Devaux goal in the first half. It was a highly entertaining game, and Reims played terrifically well, Monaco was poor in front of goal, but did rattle the bar twice.
Well that's it from me. I hope you enjoyed the game. Until the next time, goodnight.
Written by
Matt Cotton
Matt Cotton
