Business is booming for ASM. Monaco kicks off the 2022-2023 season in the third qualifying round of the Champions League against PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday 2 August. The key is a step towards qualification for the group stage of Europe’s biggest competition. The task seems daunting. Franceinfo: Sport assesses what you need to know before the meeting.
The Community of Monaco has not yet been established
Already on the bridge. Monaco is the first French club to launch its European season. The emirate’s team resumed training in mid-June, doubling the friendlies to prepare their legs for this first big meeting.
But red and white exploded on the pitch hot and cold. In seven matches, they have won only two, against their space club Cercle Brugge (1-0), and against Portugal’s Portimonense (2-0). Capable of facing Inter Milan (2-2), Philippe Clement’s men were tied by Austria Vienna, before falling to Porto (1-2) on July 23, then to Southampton on July 27 (1-3). So the collective will have to band together on Tuesday so that they do not find themselves in trouble against PSV Eindhoven.
Monaco attack expected at the corner
In the Monaco camp, we must look forward. The attack sector is particularly expected on Tuesday evening. In addition to Wissam Ben Yedder, the second top scorer in Ligue 1 last season, and Kevin Volland, Monaco’s attack was strengthened by the arrival of Takumi Minamino and Brielle Embolo during the recession.
“We have our attacking power (…) We are cohesive and we attack with all the players.”Coach Philippe Kleiman explained in a pre-match press conference. It would take nothing less than to break through the Dutch defense and take the best advantage possible before the trip to Holland.
The start of the marathon on the stars
This first game of the season marks the start of a potentially long road for Monaco before they can get a taste of the great European evenings. Should they win during this double-header, Philippe Clement’s men will advance to the play-offs, which were contested during the last two weeks of August.
There, they could find heavyweights, like Benfica, or Glasgow Rangers, in the semi-finals of the European League. We will have to win this duel again to reach the group stage of the Champions League. In the event of elimination, in the preliminary round as in the qualifiers, Ben Yedder and his companions will be automatically transferred to the group stage of the European League, as was the case last year after the disappointment against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Eindhoven, a well-known opponent and in really good condition
The opponent standing in their way is well known to Monaco. The principality’s players recently crossed paths with the Dutch during the group stage of the last European League. The Philips Stadion winners (2-1) and home commentators (0-0), found the recipe irresistible. “We’ll have to use the same components to replicate that kind of performance”Axel Desase agreed at a press conference.
# JCS2022 I was
Now we’re walking #AJAPSV pic.twitter.com/BzYlI4luN7– Eindhoven (PSV) July 31, 2022
For his part, PSV Eindhoven prepared in the best possible way for the meeting by winning the Dutch Super Cup against Ajax (5-3) on Saturday. And it seems that Ruud van Nistelrooy’s squad, carried especially by young Parisian defector Xavi Simmons and Dutchman Gus Thiel, who arrived on the bench a few weeks ago, are especially well armed. Monaco’s defense warned.
