Preview: AS Monaco motivated and determined to reign supreme vs. Reims
With preparations in full swing for AS Monaco’s clash with Stade de Reims, Adi Hutter took some time to attend the pre-match press conference.
Reims awaits
In the midst of an extremely busy run of matches, the focus is taking it one game at a time, as all eyes are firmly on securing all three points vs. Reims following Monaco’s loss to Arsenal in the Champions League.
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The Austrian manager knows it won’t be easy against Luka Elsner’s side, who have plenty of quality in their ranks.
“We are fully focused on Reims. We will talk about the Paris match later and we will see if we have an opportunity to get closer. Reims are a good home team even if they lost their last home match against Lens and notably put in a fantastic performance against Lyon. They have 19 points and are therefore having an interesting season,” Hutter explained.
“Coach Luka Elsner is also doing a good job, as he did in Le Havre before. Junya Ito and Keito Nakamura are key players in this team, Marshall Munetsi is performing well in midfield and the central defenders are solid. In attack, in the starting line-up could be Oumar Diakite or Amine Salama. All in all, they are a great team in the championship. So we will have to play a very good game to win.”
PSG on the horizon
Seeing as ASM face off with the mighty, league-leading Paris Saint-Germain after their clash with Reims, this represents a fine opportunity to close the gap at the top. But Hutter wasn’t getting too drawn into that conversation yet, for he knows they have to be fully concentrated on this one.
“If we want to get closer to Paris, we have to win tomorrow in Reims. That’s the first thing to do. We are an ambitious club, the players and I are too. After the defeat at Arsenal, the most important thing is to have recovered enough tomorrow. It will be a difficult match, and, as I said, we will have to put in a good performance to come away with the three points,” he insisted.
Talented Tincres
The topic of exciting young attacker Joan Tincres was next on the agenda, with Hutter stating he’s in with a good chance of getting some first-team action. “Folarin Balogun’s absence could be an opportunity for him. He had a very good first half of the season, where he scored a lot with the Elite Group. He is an intelligent striker. He has already been in the squad against Arsenal and Benfica as a substitute. As we currently have two strikers available, he could be in the group again,” said Hutter.
Recent record
Having lost five of their last nine encounters, Hutter knows there’s plenty of room for improvement. But the impact of some untimely disciplinary issues and injuries certainly hasn’t helped them in their quest to be more consistent.
“The numbers don’t lie, that’s for sure. If you look at the opponents, we played against Benfica at home, as well as Arsenal and Marseille away, they were big players. Also, it wasn’t easy to show up in London without Wilfried Singo and Denis Zakaria, who are two experienced players. We missed them a lot,” he reflected.
“It’s a long season, the team is young. For their experience, it is necessary to participate in this kind of match. Now, we are fully focused on Reims to continue our good season in the championship and stay on track for the Champions League. Of course, defeats hurt, but it is part of the learning process.”
Champions League adventure
When quizzed on Les Monegasques’ massive upcoming Champions League games vs. Aston Villa and Inter Milan, it was interesting to hear Hutter’s thoughts on these.
“95% chance of going through is not 100%. It will be two big games against Aston Villa and Inter. I like playing against these kinds of teams, like Benfica and Arsenal before. We can see the path we have to go to be at their level. Against Benfica, we did not deserve to lose, while against Arsenal, we were lucky to be only one goal down at half-time. In my opinion, we made too many mistakes at this level,” commented the 54-year-old.
“But I was also impressed by the first thirty minutes of the second half and the way we played. We were brave and came close to equalising before conceding a second goal. It was a great experience for our young team. Regarding the last two games, we have all the cards in hand to validate our passage 100%.”
Eyes on
Determined, motivated and ready to get back to winning ways, expect Monaco to be right up for the challenge against Reims, in a match that will serve as a brilliant precursor to their colossal clash with PSG on Wednesday.