It’s not until this weekend that the highly-followed English Premier League and Spanish La Liga kick off. However, over the weekend, the German and French leagues kicked off while the Dutch Eredisie entered the second week Already, the top stars have begun dominating the headlines with Monaco's prized striker, Ramadel Falcao, opening his Ligue 1 account on the opening day while Ghana's John Boye missed the French league opener after being left out of Rennes’ squad to face Reims last Saturday.
The Ghana international missed his club’s opening match of the season because of injury.
The central defender suffered a thigh strain while in action for Stade Rennes in a friendly last week.
The 26-year-old is expected to be out for an estimated two-week period – effectively ruling him out of Ghana’s friendly against Turkey in Istanbul on August 14.
Monaco's expensively assembled side left it late but earned a 2-0 win at Bordeaux in the French league last Saturday, as star signing Falcao scored on his debut.
Claudio Ranieri's side appeared to be heading to a draw in its first match back in the top flight, but substitute Emmanuel Riviere took advantage of a mistake by Bordeaux defender Marc Planus to score eight minutes from time and Falcao sealed the result five minutes later.
"The two goals were important but I think it's too early to talk about anything else," Ranieri said. "I was very curious to see my team against Bordeaux, which is a good team, with players who are reliable, strong and important, and who play a good, counterattacking football.
"It is a good start for Monaco, because it is the first match in Ligue 1 against a strong team. The first half was very good, the second was 50-50 but at the end Riviere made the difference. I want to wait until the other matches against other teams to see how we manage to play."
Monaco are level on points with defending champions Paris Saint-Germain — who drew 1-1 at Montpellier last Friday — after starting the season with a two-point deduction.
The French federation is currently deliberating Monaco's appeal against the penalty, which saw the club deducted points after trouble flared at their final home game last season.
Source: Soccerway
