Preview: Hutter’s AS Monaco keen to return to winning ways vs. Nantes
Having just lost the Trophee des Champions against Paris Saint-Germain in Qatar, AS Monaco return to Ligue 1 action this Friday determined to reign supreme when they take on Nantes.
Much-needed win desired
Attending the pre-match conference ahead of this key clash, manager Adi Hutter’s focus was firmly on ensuring his team gets back to winning ways and keep playing in their trademark style.
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“I have no doubts about our football. We must not forget that we have had a great start to the season, with good results and especially very good performances. Then we must not forget that we are playing in a third competition this season, and not the least with the Champions League! We have a young team, which continues to develop, especially against big teams like Arsenal. It is obvious that we are not completely satisfied with the what we’ve shown in big matches against the likes of Marseille, Nice and to a lesser extent Benfica, where we still deserved the victory,” he insisted.
“It’s a process that we’re following to grow as a team, even though we’re still in third place in the Ligue 1 standings, in a position to reach the Champions League play-offs and qualified for the next round of the Coupe de France against Union Saint-Jean. We’re therefore on target for our objectives, although we obviously have things to improve to really be back. In particular, we need to keep clean sheets and convert more of our chances.
“Nantes have shown recently that they can face the biggest teams. Against Paris Saint-Germain, they managed to get a draw with only 15% possession. Congratulations to them! They repeated this performance against Lille by also getting a draw after a good performance. They have good stability and welcome us at home with the desire to keep up their momentum. But for our part, it is important to show that we are back, and we obviously want to win this match.”
Dip in form
When asked about his side’s slight dip in form, the 54-year-old gave a typically thorough and honest response.
“Maybe we were too strong at the start of the season! I’m not here to make excuses, but to talk about the positive things I see in my team. It should also be remembered that we were without Denis Zakaria for nine games, and almost 13 for Folarin Balogun, these are facts. They are important and experienced players, so it’s not easy to do without them,” explained the Austrian tactician.
“But we are here, three points behind Marseille, even if there are many teams behind us. It is mid-season, so there are still many games with two very difficult months in January and February. We must stay in touch with the top places and show better performances.”
Defence
The topic of the defence was up next, and while ASM haven’t been perfect, the experienced coach made a point of extracting the positives.
“I am deliberately putting the Union Saint-Jean match aside. But recently we had a clean sheet against Toulouse and in Reims. And against Paris in Doha, we certainly could have conceded a goal before, but we only conceded in the last minute,” stated the former Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Monchengladbach boss.
“Almost three clean sheets in the last five games is not so bad, even if we conceded too many goals against Benfica and Paris in the league. We can improve on this, even if I am not dissatisfied with our defensive performances.”
Busy schedule
Next on the agenda was how taxing playing in the Champions League has been, with Hutter insightfully commenting on the juggling act that needs to go on with these extra fixtures.
“Olympique de Marseille is in the same situation as us last season, given that they are not playing in Europe. For us, it is a discovery to play three competitions, and in particular the Champions League. It is also not always easy to be able to train with the whole group, especially since we do not have much time to train with the trips. I am not complaining about that, on the contrary, I try to manage my team as best I can,” he told the media in attendance.
“We have two very demanding months ahead of us once again. When there is criticism, my only wish is to bounce back, and that is also the team’s desire. This match against Nantes is very important, especially since they have recently obtained good results against big teams. We must nevertheless seize this opportunity to return to victory.”
Rotation
The need to rotate the squad also served as an intriguing talking point given Monaco’s hectic upcoming schedule.
“Obviously, we’re going to rotate the squad over the next few weeks. The return from Doha wasn’t easy, and we’re entering a period with a lot of close matches, starting with Nantes on Friday and Reims on Tuesday. It’s very important for the players to recover, which is why we’re forced to rotate. It’s not possible to play 10 games in a row without being replaced,” Hutter asserted.
“Those who have less playing time will therefore have the opportunity to play, notably Jordan (Teze) and Kassoum (Ouattara) on the wings. It is important to set up this rotation in this period of the season. We must protect certain players from injuries. It makes no sense to force too much with the likes of Denis Zakaria. It is our role to protect them. We believe in all our players.”
Goalkeeping situation
Seeing as Philipp Kohn produced an exceptional showing vs. PSG in the absence of Radoslaw Majecki, it was fascinating to hear the Swiss international will get the nod for the Nantes match due to Majecki still not being back to full fitness courtesy of his injury.
“We have a cup match coming up next week, so we’ll see what happens, but Philipp Kohn will start in Nantes. Radeck Majecki is back in team training, but as usual, we’re taking care to be careful with players coming back from injuries. Especially since Philipp had a fantastic match against Paris Saint-Germain, so he’ll play in Nantes, and we’ll see what we decide for the Coupe de France,” said Hutter.
“Once again, he had a great match, making a lot of saves (9) to keep us in the game. I wanted to see him in the penalty shootout, where he could have been decisive. He was extraordinary and I was very happy with his performance.”
Stage set
Knowing his team have what it takes to claim all three points in their quest to cut the deficit to Marseille in second, the challenge is now making that a reality, which will certainly be easier said than done vs. this resolute, relegation-threatened Nantes outfit.