AS Monaco returned to winning ways in Ligue 1 this Saturday against Rennes, more than a month after its last victory, against Paris Saint-Germain.

But with two weeks until it hosts the Parisian club in the Champions League playoffs, Monaco lost two more players to injury.

Sebastien Pocognoli could smile on Saturday night after AS Monaco's fine 4-0 victory over Rennes. As in the 0-0 draw against Juventus on Wednesday night, the Belgian coach decided to set up his team in a 3-4-3 formation, a system he used successfully with Union Saint-Gilloise but not in the Principality until last week.

Deprived of numerous central defenders (Eric Dier, Wout Faes, Christian Mawissa and Mohammed Salisu, all injured), Pocognoli decided to drop his captain and defensive midfielder Denis Zakaria back a line, and it is working very well over the last two matches. Monaco is even on a run of three clean sheets and finally, this weekend, delivered a reference match with its new coach.

"It is, in the sense that we confirm a certain solidity and character," Pocognoli confirmed Saturday in a press conference. "It's our best match on the ball, and without the ball, we were a notch higher and better than against Juventus Turin. But overall, it's certainly the most complete match of the season."

While Monaco finally returned to winning ways in Ligue 1, more than a month after its last victory against PSG, the principality club nevertheless lost two more players to injury, both forwards: Ansu Fati, who scored the opening goal against Rennes, and Folarin Balogun, who had provided the assist for the former Barcelona player's goal.

In the post-match press conference, Pocognoli announced that Fati had suffered a calf issue while Balogun was dealing with a hamstring problem. While the Belgian coach did not give more information on the severity of these two injuries, they appear a priori to be muscular injuries. With two weeks until Monaco vs. PSG in the first leg of the Champions League playoffs, ASM could have done without these two new physical setbacks, even though neither player is yet ruled out against PSG.

Monaco's treatment room is certainly already quite full because, in addition to these two cases and the injured defenders mentioned above, PSG's future opponent must also deal with several long-term absentees: its goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, who suffered a right knee injury in early January and is out for several weeks; its world champion Paul Pogba, still nursing a left calf injury with an uncertain return; its young midfielder Pape Cabral, who suffered a hamstring injury in early January and is expected to be out until March; and its Japanese attacking midfielder Takumi Minamino, scorer of the only goal against PSG in late November, but out for several months due to a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee suffered in late December.

For its part, PSG has recovered several players recently, notably Lee Kang-in, who made a very promising cameo against Strasbourg on Sunday. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia injured his right ankle against Newcastle in the Champions League but should be fit for the match against Monaco on February 17. Quentin Ndjantou and Fabian Ruiz are also on their way back and should be available for the first leg of the Champions League playoff.

It should be noted that AS Monaco is still alive in the Coupe de France and will travel to Strasbourg this Thursday night, where PSG just won with difficulty in Ligue 1 this Sunday. ASM will then travel to Nice on Sunday for the Azur derby before hosting Nantes on February 13, four days before hosting PSG in the first leg of the Champions League playoff on February 17. Monaco will also play at Lens between its two playoff matches against PSG.

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