“A match with two teams who have quality”

Eager to continue European invincibility this season, the Monegasque technician presented himself at a press conference, on the eve of the reception of Benfica Lisbon, at the Stade Louis-II (9 p.m.).

Pursuing European invincibility. With three victories and a draw since the start of the Champions League, the AS Monaco players have already almost validated their place in the play-offs and now want to continue dreaming of the Top 8. This will therefore have to go through a new good result on the pitch at Stade Louis-II, against Benfica (9 p.m.). In any case, this is the objective of Adi Hütter, present at a press conference on the eve of the meeting. Excerpts. ????️

The type of match expected

It will be an interesting match because both teams have a lot of quality, especially offensively. I also saw that Benfica, on Bayern's pitch, defended well in a low block. They have six points, we have ten from four games, and therefore certainly have more pressure. I don't want to say that it will be an open match but it will be a meeting with two teams who like to play football with an attacking style.

Less pressure after the start of the season?

We are in a good position but we can take a big step if we win. So it will be an important match for us. Everyone knows our next four opponents (Benfica, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Inter Milan). Benfica is one of the most famous clubs in the world.

We expect to play a team with quality and in good form. They remain on eight consecutive victories in the league and Portuguese Cup, and won a fantastic victory against Porto (4-1). But we also resumed our march forward with three victories in a row.

Approaching the match

First of all, we are happy to have ten points in four games. I want to see my team play great football against a great team. To win, we will all have to work in the same direction and be vigilant on counter-attacks where they are performing well.

We will have to pay attention to Angel Di Maria, who is one of the best players in the Champions League over the last 15-20 years. We will therefore have to defend well as a team and be courageous on the pitch in order to prove that we are a difficult opponent for Benfica to negotiate. We want to remain undefeated, so our goal is to win.

The lack of success of the attackers

First of all, the main lesson to remember is that we have several solutions to score. For example, we are very threatening on set pieces, while our number 10s are capable of scoring regularly. I was happy that Golo' was able to unlock his score against Brest on Friday. Attackers can sometimes be unlucky on certain occasions. We must not forget that Balo' has been injured for several weeks even though he was on a good run.

I always believe in my attackers but it doesn't matter if they score less because our number 10s or our defenders from set pieces can be decisive. For other teams, it's difficult to defend well against us because it's easier to do so when only one player scores 20 goals. But I know that Breel, George and Balo', who will be back in the coming days, are capable of scoring. We managed to score three goals against Brest, we are in good shape and we will see what happens tomorrow.

The finishing qualities of defenders

When we play several competitions, there is not much time to train together, especially since many players regularly go to the national team. We know that 30% of goals are scored from corners or free kicks in modern football. We therefore pay the greatest attention to this area. Additionally, Wilfried Singo, Mohammed Salisu, Thilo Kehrer and Denis Zakaria possess athletic qualities and are capable of scoring.