Portuguese international Gelson Martins has been in fine goalscoring form for French club Monaco during the early stages of the season.
The former Sporting forward scored just three goals in all competition for Les Monegasques last season, but already has two from the opening pair of matches this term in Ligue 1 and Champions League qualification.
Gelson became the first player to score in the 2021-22 French top flight when he put Monaco ahead in their 1-1 draw with Nantes on Friday evening. Monaco carried a two-goal advantage into their Champions League third round qualifier with Sparta having won 2-0 in the Czech capital, and again it was Gelson who set them on their way to victory at the Stade Louis II.
Martins scored from an acute angle five minutes into the second half to give Monaco a 3-0 lead on aggregate. It was the first time the 26-year-old has scored in consecutive matches for Monaco since he netted in three straight games after his arrival from Atletico Madrid in February 2019.
It’s been a great start to the season for Gelson Martins. A goal on the opening round of Ligue 1 and another tonight as Monaco beat Sparta Prague in the CL qualifiers pic.twitter.com/mtkDaWKGPs
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen9) August 11, 2021
The passage for Monaco sets up an intriguing encounter with Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk in the play-off round to determine a place in the Champions League group phase. Monaco will host Shakhtar on 16 August on the French Riviera, before traveling east for the return on 23rd August in Kharkiv.
By Sean Gillen
