Analysis: Ben Seghir impresses in AS Monaco's season-opening friendly win despite penalty miss

Adi Hütter’s AS Monaco opened their pre-season with a 1-0 victory over Cercle Brugge in a match that was full of encouraging signs. Chief among them was the lively display from Eliesse Ben Seghir, who impressed despite missing a penalty in this first friendly.

Providing plenty of attacking spark through his technical quality, intelligent movement and slick dovetailing with teammates, the Moroccan international was a constant menace to the Belgian side.

Such a force and so dynamic on the dribble, he showcased his wonderful array of skills, including nifty turns, feints, shimmies and shrewd changes of pace and direction, as he was a major asset for Hütter’s team going forward.

Ben Seghir’s unpredictability, coupled with his classy first touch and elite ball control, presented a formidable challenge for defenders, who often resorted to fouls in their attempts to contain him. Two standout examples were when he won a free-kick he nearly scored from and when he earned the spot-kick he frustratingly had saved.

So press resistance and tough to dispossess due to his impressive balance, ability to ride challenges and underrated strength, this added to his nuisance.

His tidy passing elevated his playmaking prowess, for not only did he play some incisive progressive through balls and vertical line-breaking passes, but he also engaged in some neat combination play to breathe life and tempo into attacks.

The livewire’s movement was also instrumental, with him often drifting infield to get dangerous between the lines, in the half spaces and into true central midfield areas to supplement his high and wide stationing, with his inside ventures allowing him to create numerical and positional superiorities to help ASM progress. His indenting notably created room for Caio Henrique to surge ahead on the overlap to horizontally and vertically stretch the opposition backline as well.

Ben Seghir helping form a 3v2 overload in midfield

His crisp rotations across the frontline were another feature, with this compounding issues for Cercle Brugge in terms of who should be marking him in what zone.

To further enhance his threat, how he made zippy runs down the channels was a highlight too, as he shrewdly noticed when defenders stepped out or were preoccupied, in a contest where his alertness to open spaces and astute scanning to gain knowledge of the location of opponents allowed him to expertly exploit gaps in their adversaries’ structure.

Ben Seghir operating centrally before embarking on a crisp run in behind into the vacated space

Essentially oscillating between a winger, a 10, a forward and an advanced No 8, this underlines his tactical flexibility, which is always a huge boost for Hütter when deciding how to implement the phenom.

While this was only a friendly and his outing was soured by him failing to convert from the spot, there was certainly a lot to like about the excitement machine’s efforts.

Looking to enjoy a positive campaign following his unsatisfactory conclusion to the 2024/2025 term, which ended with him playing more of a bit-part role to ensure he struggled to impact as he desired, this latest body of work will give him a nice injection of confidence.

as-monaco-preparation-cercle-brugge — *Loïc SAVARESSE – Monaco Tribune*

It’s important to note that he still featured in 46 matches in all competitions and appeared in all but one of Monaco’s 34 Ligue 1 games, thus demonstrating what an integral member of the squad he is.

Equipped with all the tools to become a genuine star and with the club keen to keep him, it’ll be intriguing to see if he remains with the Principality club given the heavy transfer interest surrounding him.

“At the end of last season, he had a vision that didn’t reflect the reality. He played more than 2,000 minutes, which is a lot. He scored lots of goals and made lots of assists. It is our job too to show that the plan is going on. A football career is a process, not an act,” AS Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro said in a recent press conference on how Hütter utilised Ben Seghir.

“He is a special talent, a special player. We have the intention to keep developing him here. I think his prime is to come. It is our intention that he stays.”

With Champions League football and the 2026 World Cup on the horizon next season, all eyes will be on Ben Seghir’s future. He appears poised to continue making his mark – though the key caveat remains: will he be plying his trade at Monaco for the upcoming crusade?