Facing Angers, Monaco must sweep away doubts
Two and a half weeks ago, Monaco was just winning. Since then, Philippe Clément’s team has been unable to do so. Four games have followed, two in the Europa League and two others in the Championship, without the slightest success. ASM fell to 7th place in the Championship, 6 points from the podium, and they drew a line under first place in their C3 group, synonymous with potential big opponents if they qualify for the play-offs (Barcelona, Atlético of Madrid, Juventus). But it takes more to worry Philippe Clément.
Having experienced the rise of his team last spring, the Belgian coach knows that his training has the means to start a new series. And he likes to repeat that football is not a sport where the best always wins. “When you look at Ferencvaros’ expected goals, they are just under 1 across the two games (0-1 outward on September 15, 1-1 on the return this Thursday), he underlines. We must not say that the team did not deserve to win these four games. We lacked efficiency in the two rectangles. »
Between injury, suspension and mistakes…
The expulsion of Mohamed Camara at the start of the match against Clermont (1-1) did not help, as did his suspension in Lille (3-4) – which extends this weekend – and the defensive errors of Vanderson, Trabzonspor (0-4) and Lille, in addition to the Brazilian’s injury to Ferencvaros, which forced Diatta to take up his position as right-back. And Alexander Nübel has been going through a low since the but gag he cost Trabzonspor. “At the moment our opponents haven’t had many chances, but when they had one it was almost a goal,” recalls Clément, who however did not send his goalkeeper affected by his dumpling to Turkey. “I don’t have that feeling when I see him in training or in a match. He has proven a lot of good things in recent months. I hope my players are stable and mature enough to believe in themselves and their qualities. »