French clubs are in good shape this season in the Champions League, and Monaco is no exception to the rule. Undefeated after four days, the princely club has the opportunity to follow up, three weeks after its success in Bologna, by hosting Benfica on Wednesday evening.
However, the task will not be easy against a historic club on the Portuguese scene. Third in its championship, with a match in hand to play, Benfica had ideally started its European campaign with two successes in Belgrade (2-1), and especially at home against Atlético de Madrid (4-0).
Less successful subsequently, the Lisbonites lost their last two C1 matches, against Feyenoord (1-3) then Bayern Munich (0-1). Led by their Turkish striker Kerem Akturkoglu as well as the Argentinian big names Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi, the Portuguese will come to the Principality with the intention of relaunching themselves.
Make “a better performance” than against Brest
If he was satisfied with his team’s victory against Brest in the championship last Friday (3-2), Adi Hütter, the Monaco coach, felt that more would have to be done to overcome the Benfiquists. “We are talking about another competition, a truly enormous opponent of European football,” he analyzed, adding: “We are capable of winning, but for that, we will have to offer a better performance than what we we produced” against the Bretons.
ASM will be able to count on its prodigy Maghnes Akliouche (22 years old), author of two goals this season in the Champions League, to try to dynamite the opposing defense. The meeting, the first clash between the two clubs in ten years, will be followed on the Canal+ channel, also on Canal+ Live 1, with kick-off scheduled for 9 p.m. at the Louis-II stadium.
Senegal
