Friendly: AS Monaco maintains pre-season momentum with strong win vs Arminia Bielefeld

AS Monaco once again showed their class, as they emphatically defeated Arminia Bielefeld 0-3 to continue their unbeaten start to pre-season.

The Match

Registering their third friendly win and clinching their fourth consecutive clean sheet, goals from Mika Biereth, Paris Brunner and Maghnes Akliouche powered Les Monegasques to glory vs the German second division outfit, who were just promoted following them topping the third tier last term.

Opting to set his team up in a base 4-4-2, Adi Hütter notably handed Soungoutou Magassa his first start in these warm-up games and paired Breel Embolo and Mika Biereth in attack.

The Danish striker wasted little time in opening the scoring with a tidy finish to give Monaco the lead in the 25th minute, as he maintained his superb form.

The masterful marksman came close to extending their advantage shortly after, but he failed to get the desired contact on a crisp Kassoum Ouattara cross. 

As the match progressed, the Red and Whites really began to assert their dominance, with Biereth enjoying another solid chance before Tim Handwerker fired off an attempt for the home side to underline they still pose a serious threat.

Ahead at the interval, Hütter changed all of the outfield players, which importantly saw Christian Mawissa, Vanderson and Folarin Balogun given their first action this pre-season.

The Austrian’s reshuffle paid dividends almost instantly, for Brunner doubled their ascendancy courtesy of a quality header from a Caio Henrique cross to claim his first ASM goal. The victory was then sealed 11 minutes later when Maghnes Akliouche capitalised on a quickly taken free kick to make it 0-3 just past the hour.

In complete control in this one-sided second stanza, the chances kept flowing for ASM, as Denis Zakaria, Folarin Balogun (twice) and Lucas Michal weren’t far off.

Meanwhile, at the other end, Philipp Köhn comfortably performed his duties to deny a late Bielefeld strike and secure the shutout triumph.

Hutter’s Debrief

“The first half was insufficient, while the second was much better, even if we could have expected even more. We are in the middle of the preparation, which is sometimes normal. Nevertheless, I am satisfied with this latest clean sheet and these three goals scored,” insisted the experienced tactician.

Busy schedule rolls on

The Red and Whites’ hectic schedule doesn’t end there, for up next they have back-to-back fixtures against Torino at the Performance Centre – Wednesday at 6 p.m. and Thursday at 10:30 a.m. – before travelling to Amsterdam for a clash with Ajax next Sunday at 2:30 p.m.