Friendly: AS Monaco suffer narrow defeat to Genoa
A day after recording an exciting come-from-behind victory vs. Bologna, AS Monaco couldn’t replicate their winning ways from the previous night by losing 1-0 to Genoa.
The Match
With such a short period in between fixtures, Adi Hutter unsurprisingly made a host of changes to his team from the Bologna clash (as can be seen below).
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Racing out of the blocks with gusto, Genoa immediately put ASM on the back foot, as they unleashed two efforts on goal in the first two minutes.
The Italian outfit then kept up their momentum before they eventually took the lead courtesy of Albert Gudmundsson following a harshly awarded penalty.
Things almost got worse shortly after for the visitors, but thankfully Soungoutou Magassa was on hand to stop George Puscas with a vital intervention.
Although Eliesse Ben Seghir launched a powerful effort from range, this was as close as Les Monegasques came in the opening half.
Coming out with intent to begin the second stanza, the likes of Kevin Volland and Ben Seghir especially posed a major threat to Alberto Gilardino’s men.
But despite putting their best foot forward and piling on the pressure late, Monaco ultimately lost 1-0 in a game that served as another valuable hit-out.
Arsenal awaits
Next up for Monaco is a highly anticipated contest with Arsenal in London, where all eyes will be watching to see how Hutter’s side fares against Mikel Arteta’s exceptional Gunners.
Hutter’s Insights
Hutter’s interview extracts on pre-season, his first impressions, the young players, his aims for the campaign and more.
“I am really very proud to have joined this magnificent club, which has a rich history. When I arrived, it was a bit special, because it was late at night. But the next day when I arrived at the Performance Centre, it was incredible,” he explained.
“Today I think everyone wants to get back to playing in Europe. It is one of our main objectives, even if it is difficult, of course, to return to the continental scene. AS Monaco deserves to compete in prestigious competitions like the Champions League. And to do that you have to finish at the top of the table. It’s a big challenge for us, and I think we have a chance to achieve it.
“In any case, we will fight every day to do so. And for that, it’s important to feel the support of everyone behind us, and that’s what I feel. We all have different roles, but keep the same goal in mind. It’s important to be proud to work at AS Monaco and strive for success, working together, pulling in the same direction. All these people around us give us a lot of positive energy, and the players have to feel this.
“When you manage to impose your principles, sooner or later you will know success. Then also friendly matches allow you to see how well the players have assimilated what we work on daily in training. But in the end the objective remains to prepare the team for Ligue 1.”