Sunday, 16th February, 2014
Monaco coach Claudio Ranieri has explained his decision to leave out captain Eric Abidal from yesterday's 2-0 win away at Bastia.
The former Barcelona defender watched from the stands in the Ligue 1 match, with Nicolas Isimat-Mirin being handed his spot in the side.
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Questions were instantly raised and answers searched for, but for Ranieri, it was simple: He wanted to give the 34-year-old a rest.
"It was my choice to rest Abidal", he said after the match.
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"Isimat-Mirin had a good match against Nice [on Wednesday in the Coupe de France] and I wanted to give our captain a rest."
The Ligue 1 win moves Monaco on to 53 points from 25 games.
Ranieri's men sit second in the table, five points behind league leaders Paris Saint-Germain, but nine ahead of third-placed Lille, who take on Evian later today.
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