Friendly: AS Monaco draw vs. Union Saint-Gilloise in Hutter’s debut
AS Monaco kicked-off their pre-season with a solid 1-1 draw with Union Saint-Gilloise in Adi Hutter’s first game in charge.
The Match
Deploying his team in a base 4-2-3-1 for this friendly that featured a nice blend of youth and experience, this was an interesting choice given many were expecting he’d opt for a three at the back formation.
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Beginning the fixture by pressing with intensity to impose themselves on their foes from the off, which led to them regaining the ball many times in ideal areas, ASM raced out of the blocks impressively.
After producing some good attempts on goal in the early stages, it was then the Belgian outfit who created some decent openings of their own in the scorching summer conditions.
With both sets of players getting visibly tired following the cooling break as the first half drew to a close, it was Victor Boniface who broke the deadlock just prior to the interval to propel USG into the lead.
Making a plethora of changes to his team for the second stanza, Hutter’s Les Monegasques looked lively in their quest to get back into the game, with Gelson Martins posing a particularly dangerous threat for Union.
The Portuguese flyer then duly rewarded all his good work by levelling the ledger when he found the back of the net to cap off a sweet move that also featured neat contributions by Malamine Efekele and Kevin Volland.
The remaining 15 or so minutes saw the two sides exchange chances while they pushed for victory, but neither could find a breakthrough, as the contest ultimately ended 1-1.
Hutter’s Debrief
“We tried to put in place what we had worked on this week. I was impressed with the first 10-15 minutes. We recovered a lot of balls and we had chances to score. We made mistakes too, but that’s normal, it’s the first game of the season after two training sessions. I am generally satisfied with what my players have shown,” insisted a content Hutter.
Up Next
Next up for Les Rouge et Blanc is a clash with Cercle Brugge next Saturday, which will serve as another valuable hitout for Hutter’s men, who’ll be keen to impress again while making further strides to put into practice the principles implemented on the training ground under their exciting new manager.