Preview: Angers road test awaits AS Monaco
Still searching for their first away win of 2025, AS Monaco are desperately hoping to break this run and defeat Angers this weekend.
Speaking ahead of this important match, manager Adi Hutter shared his thoughts at the pre-match press conference on a host of topics.
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Mistakes
The first item on the docket was the many mistakes Monaco have committed this season, which has been a frustrating theme and cost them regularly both domestically and in Europe.
“We have to be honest, there have been too many individual errors this season. As a coach, when tactically your opponent creates few chances, but you don’t win the match, it’s very frustrating. In Toulouse, we had a good match, but we conceded that goal at the very end, which cost us two important points when you look at the table,” Hutter insisted.
“Despite everything, I think we’ve been more and more stable defensively in recent weeks, and we shouldn’t forget that we’ve missed several clear chances. When you’re leading 2-0 or 3-0, it’s not the same as having a one-goal lead where anything can happen. We have to be careful about that and seize opportunities to make the break when we have the chance. But we still have the cards in hand, starting with this important match in Angers.”
Focus
Citing concentration as an issue, his words on this made for interesting reading too. “I think we should be talking more about a lack of concentration at certain moments of the match, rather than tactical problems. If we look at the situation in Toulouse specifically, it was more a question of misjudgment between Radeck and Thilo, as was the case at Benfica between Camara and Mawissa to clear the ball. It’s sometimes difficult to explain from my point of view, but we will try to show that we have learned from these mistakes and that we can do much better in Angers. Especially since it’s important to win away games, as we’re capable of doing at home,” he noted.
“Once again, I have the feeling that we’re playing better football than we were a few weeks ago. We’re still in the race for a podium finish, and we have our destiny in our own hands. I repeat, but to do that we have to win away games.”
Toulouse lapse
Next on the agenda was the mix-up between Radoslaw Majecki with Thilo Kehrer in the recent Toulouse game, and Hutter spoke insightfully on this situation.
“Sometimes things happen very quickly in a match, and it’s not always easy to make the right decision. We need to be stronger in these situations, and decide to clear the ball when necessary, or communicate more. It doesn’t matter if the players collide or whatever, we have to know how to remove the danger when the danger becomes clear. That’s our main focus at the moment. I think the players already communicate well with each other, but sometimes maybe not enough with the atmosphere in the stadium,” explained the Austrian.
“In this action in Toulouse, it was a jump ball, Radeck hesitated to stay in his goal, Thilo retreated towards the goal and I think that both of them didn’t know what to do at the time, and it resulted in a bad goal. It really annoyed me at the time, but we have to move on now because it’s behind us. I think there’s no point blaming my players for this kind of error, because it’s not constructive. That’s football, and that’s not my idea of management, on the contrary, we have to talk about the situation and assess what solutions there are to do better.”
Embolo and Henrique
The form of Breel Embolo and Caio Henrique were other intriguing topics, with Hutter keen to point out their valuable contributions to the team.
“It’s always a question of balance in a team. We’re very happy with the form of Mika (Biereth), who has already scored 10 goals and provided two assists, and is also working well in the game with Breel and Taki. Breel works hard for the team,” stated the 55-year-old on the Swiss international forward.
“We’ll see what starting XI we have in Angers, because I have a lot of options at my disposal now. Maybe Aleksandr Golovin will be available, so we’ll see if we play with one striker and three number 10s or two strikers – it depends on the opponent. In any case, Breel is doing a bit of background work for the team.”
He then added this on Henrique: “He’s in much better shape right now, not only physically, but also in terms of scoring goals, with several assists recently. He’s showing more consistency in his performances, and that’s very important for us.”
Ligue 1 form
Extra talking points were Hutter’s take on Monaco’s current spot in the table (4th) and how they need to be taking more points from games where they’re in winning positions, which has hindered them in their pursuit of qualifying for Champions League football in the 2025/2026 crusade.
“It’s true that things are getting very tight at the top of the table, and obviously the two points lost in Toulouse will count. We’re now two points behind Nice and five behind Marseille, and we could have been even closer if we’d won last weekend. After that draw, the feeling wasn’t good, obviously, just like after a defeat. But we have to believe until the end. We are still in the race for the Champions League, so we will have to fight to finish in the top three or four,” Hutter told the media.
“Fourteen points since January isn’t enough. We have no excuses for having obtained nine points fewer than Nice over the same period; our average isn’t good enough. At the start of the season, we started very well with the Champions League matches during the week. Now it’s different with more time to prepare for the matches, so we’ll have to manage better than at the beginning of the year.
“We’ll have to seize our opportunities, because everyone will be waiting for us, starting with Angers. We need to get a win before the international break, but to do that we’ll have to play a top performance, both offensively and defensively.”
Akliouche
Lastly, his opinion on whether Maghnes Akliouche should be called up for the senior France squad was a fascinating way to end things, with him full of praise for the young phenom.
“In my opinion, he has all the attributes to be a senior international. Didier Deschamps is lucky to have the choice between players as talented as Rayan Cherki, Desire Doue and Maghnes Akliouche. Perhaps Doue has an advantage because he plays for Paris Saint-Germain. If I were the coach, I would be happy to have the choice, even if Maghnes deserves to be called up in my opinion. In any case, we are very happy with his progress,” Hutter said.
Angers on the horizon
With all the talking done and dusted, it’s time for action in Angers, in a match where victory is essential for ASM to remain right in the hunt in the hugely competitive race to secure Champions League football.