“Play a perfect match if we want to win”

Driven by the desire to put in a great performance this Wednesday against Paris Saint-Germain, in the advanced match of the 16th day of Ligue 1 (9 p.m.), the Monegasque technician spoke about the context of the meeting.

Succeed in the last outing in the league in 2024. In the wake of the draw conceded in Reims (0-0), the AS Monaco players continue with THE shock of the first part of the season against Paris, this Wednesday at the Stade Louis -II (9 p.m.). A meeting for which Adi Hütter expects a great performance from his players, as he confided at a press conference. Excerpts ????️

End the year well against PSG

Obviously we want to win this clash against Paris Saint-Germain, but for that we have to have a perfect day! They are still undefeated at the moment in Ligue 1, and since the start of the season they have proven that they are almost untouchable.

Paris are obviously favorites for this match, even if we are obviously capable of beating them. But that will require a perfect match, whether defensively or offensively, and a top performance from my team, I repeat.

The challenge in the ranking

Personally I never mentioned the title, we never talked about it at the Club! We are obviously ambitious and we will always do our best to achieve the highest. But back home, no one mentioned the title. In life, it’s not forbidden to dream, that’s for sure, but we are already working to reduce the gap between PSG and us, before thinking of anything else. Last year they were six points ahead of us at the same time, today they are seven. The difference is that today we are also playing in the Champions League, so it is not comparable! I’m not making excuses, these are just facts. Our desire is to show the best face of our young team every weekend, but at the moment we are not entirely satisfied.

We were frustrated by this Reims match which we had to win, that’s for sure. I always defend my team, even if we would have liked to be better, but we currently have an average of 2 points/game and are in a good position in the Champions League. Then there are injuries that penalize us, like those of Denis Zakaria and Folarin Balogun, who have both already missed seven games each. We know that people expect a team to compete with PSG, but there is not only AS Monaco, but also Olympique de Marseille, Lille, Lens, Lyon, etc. I would obviously dream of winning a title with AS Monaco, but you have to be realistic.

About Maghnes Akliouche

I have already said it, I felt as soon as I arrived at the Club in the summer of 2023 that he was a great talent, even if he was a little frail in duels. I also targeted the fact that he could be more decisive, in terms of goals and assists, because he is capable of doing that. He has since become another player by working on these points. Today, he is a fantastic player who has made very strong progress and who is much more decisive in the last gesture. I am very happy with its development in one year! He makes a lot of differences in our matches, and he is one of our technical leaders, like Eliesse (Ben Seghir) obviously. He is at the start of a lot of opportunities.

And then look at the number of matches he played! He played in the Olympic Games, he is now playing in the Champions League… This is why we sometimes have to be careful with him and protect him from injuries in particular, because he is a key player for us, that’s obvious. The next step for him? He went from being a young player to a successful player! He must find consistency in his performances, for the rest, I am already impressed by his progress. He runs a lot, has a real impact physically and he is at the start of a lot of actions, which is the most important for me.

On the role of Thilo Kehrer

When you play against your former club, the motivation is always very high, and this is the case for Thilo before this shock against PSG. He is a leader for us, whether on the pitch or in the locker room, he is connected to all the players and speaks several languages. He is therefore a very good vice-captain alongside Denis Zakaria and is currently having a very good start to the season. He is a true leader!

About the efficiency problem

I would be more concerned if we didn’t have so many situations, except we don’t, we do! On the other hand, we miss these scoring opportunities too easily, as Takumi Minamino admitted for example after the match in Reims, who could have scored several.

It’s not easy to work on finishing though, because we don’t have much time to work between matches with the sequence, not to mention the fact that we have to pay attention to the workload. In any case, I believe in my players, I know that we will regain our efficiency, because we have ammunition, whether from set pieces or in the game.

PSG in Ligue 1 and the Champions Leagues

They are the big favorites in Ligue 1 and won big matches in Marseille, Lens and at home against Lyon yesterday. They have more difficulties in the Champions League, but I am not here to judge their performances. They are still in the race to obtain their place for the play-offs. But I repeat, they showed against Lyon that they are indeed the strongest in the championship.

On the intensity to use against Paris

At the moment, we are obviously not in the same physical shape as this summer, even if we are rotating a lot. But even with this turnover, Reims was impressed by our athletic level, three days after playing a big match against Arsenal. It was a physically intense match when you look at the statistics. Our concern at the moment is more about scoring, more than our state of form.

After 21 matches, we are in very good shape physically, and to press Paris when necessary, because it is our style of play, we have to be! Without offering them space, because we saw against Lyon that they can be very dangerous when that is the case. But when you pressure them, they are also capable of making mistakes.

About the winter transfer window

We will have to do without Folarin Balogun, who is out for four months, and who will have surgery tomorrow. With this absence, it is therefore necessary to keep our eyes open to the market and see what the possibilities are and what is the best solution for us.

Everyone knows that it is not easy in the winter transfer window, so we must find the best compromise to face this second part of the season. There are a lot of players in Europe who could help us. What is certain is that we have to find someone who scores goals! Regardless of age, we need someone who helps the team score more goals.

On the balance sheet after 15 matches

In the Ligue 1 standings, we have exactly the same number of points as last year after 15 matches (30 points, 9 wins, 3 draws, 3 losses), with a better goal difference (+12 compared to +11 in 2023). -2024). And even if we conceded fewer goals (12 compared to 20 at the time), we also scored less (24 goals compared to 31 last year).

Currently we are the best defense in the elite with PSG, so our concern is more on the attack. We believe in our strikers, whether it’s Breel Embolo or George Ilenikhena, but we need to find someone who has a real goalscoring profile.

The progress of George Ilenikhena

I think there are two things about him, firstly his age, because he is still very young (18 years old), and there are his performances. He started very strong by scoring against FC Barcelona, ​​which proved to us that he will be able to score a lot of goals in the future. Currently he is going through a more difficult period, but that is quite normal in his development process. What is certain is that it holds great promise for the future.