Monaco strike two early goals to tame Deportivo

Early goals by strikers Mohamed Kallon and Javier Saviola earned Monaco a 2-0 victory over Deportivo Coruna in their Champions League Group A match on Tuesday.

Kallon opened the scoring by slotting home a fine pass from Emmanuel Adebayor inside the box after five minutes and Saviola netted the second five minutes later with a close-range shot.

The principality team looked as if they might get a hatful of goals as they did in their record 8-3 win over the Spanish side last season but they soon ran out of steam.

"We took a pretty good start in this match," coach Didier Deschamps said. "And we certainly could have scored two more goals on counter-attacks but could have conceded some too.

"You can't compare the two matches as it was two different teams and my feeling is that we suffered a lot physically during the second half tonight. We looked a bit tired."

After the break, Depor created several chances but Monaco goalkeeper Flavio Roma produced several fine saves.

Monaco's man of the match Adebayor came closest to adding another goal with a volley against the bar in the 75th minute before being replaced by Uruguay's Ernesto Chevanton.

Adebayor, who received a standing ovation as he left the pitch, said: "It's good to hear the people chanting your name. I think I deserved it because I've been in a great shape for the last four weeks."

"I could have scored myself but making two decisive passes makes me feel good too."

The win was a relief to Monaco as they bounced back from their opening 2-0 defeat at Liverpool two weeks ago.

Olympiakos Piraeus top the group on four points after beating Liverpool (three points) 1-0 on Tuesday. Monaco also have three with Deportivo on one.

"We needed to win tonight after the defeat at Anfield," Deschamps said. "You have to win all your home games to have a chance to qualify for the second round."

"It's what we did tonight. We took three points. But this is only a stage in this championship. There are still four matches to go."

"At least we proved we are consistent defensively and it's good for the confidence."