Paris, Aug 31 (IANS) Monaco continued their stuttering start as the French Ligue 1 runners-up of last season were held to a 1-1 draw Saturday at home by Lille, with Radamel Falcao excluded from the squad.
Amid increasing speculation over the Colombian forward’s departure before the summer transfer window shuts Monday, Falcao was withdrawn from the match day list at the last minute, reports Xinhua.
His replacement Dimitar Berbatov started the game for Monaco and scored the second half equaliser on 61 minutes to earn Leonardo Jardim’s side a point.
Berbatov cancelled out Nolan Roux’s opener for the visitors after just 17 minutes into the game, preventing Monaco from slipping to a third league defeat after only four rounds of the season.