Monaco goalkeeper Danijel Subasic and defender Andrea Raggi hailed the impact of Lacina Traore after he came off the bench to rescue a 1-1 Europa League draw against Anderlecht on Thursday.
Anderlecht took an 11th-minute lead through Guillaume Gillet and looked set to make a winning start to their Group J campaign before Traore silenced the majority assembled at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium with an 85th-minute equaliser.
Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim reacted to being 1-0 down at half-time by introducing the 6ft 8in Traore at the start of the second half and the Ivorian's impact drew praise from his team-mates.
"It was a difficult game because we conceded a goal quickly. On an error like in Valencia (when they lost their Champions League qualifier)," Subasic told his club's website.
"The entries of Lacina and (Stephan) El Shaarawy made us good. It led to us creating more opportunities."
Right-back Raggi joined Subasic in praising Traore and insisted the point earned in Belgium is something to be pleased about.
"This is a good point for us tonight against this very strong team of Anderlecht," the Italian said.
"We must have more and more aggression and fight for every ball.
"If he is 100 per cent physically and mentally, Lacina is a very good player. This year I think he can help us a lot."
