Coach Leonardo Jardim has given a strong indication that he is planning to give the Bulgarian striker the night off when his side welcome the Corsicans on Friday.
Dimitar Berbatov started AS Monaco’s last match, against Evian Thonon Gaillard, on the bench, but entered the contest early on before scoring a fine effort.
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Berbatov’s stylish 35th-minute effort added to Anthony Martial’s opening strike to set Jardim’s outfit on their way to a comfortable 3-1 victory over the club from the Savoie.
Having to come on for the injured Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco on 19 minutes, Berbatov was denied the rest intended for him by the coach in that match, but Jardim has indicated that he may be given the night off against SC Bastia on Friday.
“I will do all I can to ensure that Berbatov is at his best,” the coach began, as reported by Monaco’s official Twitter account.
“It’s up to me to manage his state of fitness.”
L.Jardim : “Je ferai en sorte que Berbatov soit au top. A moi de gérer son état de forme. ” #ASMSCB pic.twitter.com/LcQD8uQd5Z
— AS MONACO (@AS_Monaco) March 11, 2015
The 34-year-old Berbatov has scored seven goals in 20 Ligue 1 outings so far this season and Jardim will want him to be fit for Monaco’s Champions League Last 16 second-leg match against Arsenal next Tuesday.