C1: Monaco wants to extend its Champions League dream
A week after being held in check on its lawn by PSV (1-1), Monaco has a lot to do on Tuesday (8:30 p.m.) in Eindhoven to win its ticket for the Champions League play-offs, the last stage before the phase of hens.
In the boiling atmosphere of the Philips Stadion, the ASM will have to resist the pressure and increase the slider in terms of aggressiveness to get rid of the players of Ruud van Nistelrooy in the 3rd qualifying round for the C1.
The Monegasques, jostled by the PSV at Louis-II, will have to take inspiration from the last quarter of an hour of the game where they had taken over the Dutch. They had first equalized by Axel Disasi (80th) and had not been far from winning against an opponent on the verge of rupture.
“Every match has its story. We know it will be very complicated there. We know this stadium and its atmosphere. The team that will be the most concentrated, that will make the fewest errors and that will be the most daring will qualify. . We will have to look for luck,” said the central defender and captain of the French Riviera after the first round.
In any case, the ASM was full of confidence this weekend by going to win (2-1) on the lawn of Strasbourg. In the crazy atmosphere of La Meinau, the players of Le Rocher delivered a very good performance despite the many absences (Volland and Golovin suspended, Badiashile and Minamino injured, Caio Henrique victim of Covid-19).
– Monaco almost complete –
The defense was solid, whether in the center or on the sides, even if it trembled a little at the end of the match when the RCSA pushed to equalize, while the offensive sector was to its advantage with in particular a pressing very high and a lot of aggressiveness.
Gelson Martins and Sofiane Diop were very stirring, while Krepin Diatta, who started for the first time since his ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in November, scored a sumptuous but.
“We showed what AS Monaco was, a team that fights from start to finish, which knows how to be aggressive and play ball. In Eindhoven, we will have to show the same face”, underlined the international striker Senegalese. “If we do it, I think we’ll be able to get out of it, but we know we’ll have to work hard. We know that the Champions League is at another level, so we won’t have to give up.”
For this crucial duel in the Netherlands, coach Philippe Clément should recover the majority of the absentees and thus present themselves against PSV with a very competitive team. In Strasbourg, the Belgian technician even allowed himself the luxury of sparing his striker Wissam Ben Yedder, who remained on the bench and who will start at the Philips Stadion.
PSV also approached this shock with confidence: after dominating Ajax in the Dutch Supercup (5-3) then bringing back a draw from Monaco (1-1), Eindhoven made short work of ‘ Emmen (4-1) on Saturday during the first day of the Dutch championship. Former Paris SG attacking midfielder Xavi Simons, author of a decisive pass and elected man of the match, scored points…