AS Monaco against Portuguese clubs, what does it give?
Before the round of 16 first leg of the Europa League between SC Braga and AS Monaco, this Thursday (9 p.m.), a look back at the previous oppositions between the Red and Whites and the Portuguese clubs.
A unique poster. For the first time in official competition, AS Monaco will cross paths with Sporting Clube de Braga this Thursday evening (9 p.m.) in 8and first leg of the Europa League. The Club of the Principality will therefore face the fifth Portuguese team in its history in the European Cup, after precedents which did not give it a smile, since the record is two wins, two draws and five defeats.
Goodbye @SCBragaOficial 👋
𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗲. 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸. 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗮𝘁. #UELdraw | #UEL pic.twitter.com/Z3uxPXabpq
– AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) February 25, 2022
Belenenses to start
Everything had started off perfectly, however, since Monaco had cleared its first Portuguese obstacle without incident, during the 1989-1990 season. Engaged in the Coupe des Coupes, Arsène Wenger’s team had eliminated Belenenses when they entered the competition, with a draw away (1-1) then a big victory at Louis-II (3-0), thanks to a double from George Weah and a goal from Fabrice Mège.
A “comeback” against Sporting
The other seven games against Portuguese clubs then all took place in the Champions League. First against Sporting Portugal, in the group stage of the 1997-1998 season. The Red and Whites lost heavily at the José Alvalade stadium (3-0), before making a comeback on the return. Led 2-0 at half-time, they finally won 3-2 thanks to the duo David Trezeguet – Thierry Henry, authors of three goals in 25 minutes.
Porto, the black beast
The most memorable, and sad, match in the memory of all Asemist supporters obviously remains the 2004 Champions League final, lost to FC Porto (3-0) at the end of an anthology men of Didier Deschamps. The Dragons will find themselves on the road to the Monegasques during the group stage of the 2017-2018 season, with unfortunately two heavy defeats on the clock (0-3, 5-2).
The Benfica paradox
In addition to FC Porto and Sporting, AS Monaco also faced the third behemoth of Lusitanian football, namely Benfica Lisbon, during the 2014-2015 Champions League. Paradoxically, the Red and Whites, who will reach the quarter-finals that season, had taken only one point in the two confrontations (0-0, 1-0) but had finished at the top of their group. , while the Portuguese had taken… the last place.
AS Monaco’s record against Portuguese clubs: 2 wins, 2 draws, 5 losses, 9 goals scored, 18 conceded.