Friendly: AS Monaco draw with Cercle Bruges
© Direction de la Communication / Charly Gallo
AS Monaco enjoyed another solid hit-out that ended in a 1-1 draw against Cercle Bruges in their second pre-season friendly at the Performance Centre. The two teams put on an entertaining show on Saturday morning under the eyes of President Dmitry Rybolovlev and and the directors of both clubs.
The Match
Facing off against their satellite club, Adi Hutter handed many of the gifted academy talents a start due to ASM missing a host of first-team regulars courtesy of injury and the players who were on international being on a deserved break.
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The away team hit the ground running to stamp their mark early, as Kazeem Olaigbe fired a shot off inside a minute, but thankfully for Les Monegasques Yann Lienard was alert to deny the attempt.
Monaco immediately responded, however, with Myron Boadu finding the back of the net, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
Cercle Bruges then took the lead through exciting attacker Kevin Denkey when he coolly converted his spot-kick.
Hutter’s men then reacted swiftly, for Aleksandr Golovin unleashed a promising effort before Thilo Kehrer levelled the ledger with a strong header following Edan Diop’s smart delivery in the 12th minute.
Le Président Dmitry Rybolovlev en compagnie des dirigeants de l'AS Monaco et du Cercle Bruges qui assistent à la rencontre amicale du jour entre les deux clubs 🔴⚪️#ASMCER pic.twitter.com/qzUrUQsBHh
— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) July 13, 2024
Last year’s top scorer in the Belgian top flight, Denkey, continued to pose a threat, looking lively every time he was on the ball in the final third.
Although Monaco came close to leading heading into the interval when Boadu hit the post, all eyes turned to the second stanza.
Trading chances and periods of ascendancy, both teams were eager to gain the upper hand while getting some valuable minutes into their players, as a plethora of substitutions were made. Bradel Kiwa notably made his first ever appearance for Les Rouge et Blanc off the bench, with him marking the occasion with an encouraging cameo.
Even though many opportunities flew in for the two sides in the closing portion of the clash, the match ultimately finished in a draw.
Hutter’s Debrief
“There are still quite a few internationals missing, so it’s also an opportunity for the youngsters in the Elite Group to show themselves. I know them well because they’ve been with us regularly for a year, and we want to give them the chance to be able to play,” explained the Austrian tactician.
“I think it was a good test for us today against Cercle. We know their style of play, their desire to press high, so it was important for us to know how to get out of this pressure and build. There were some mistakes at times, but in the end it was a good match against a very physical team. The draw is logical in the end.”
On the horizon
Up next for Monaco is a trip to Austria, where they’re set to undergo an intense week of training in picturesque surroundings, which will be pivotal in getting the squad up to speed physically ahead of the new campaign.
