AS Monaco have kicked off their pre-season with a 1-1 draw in a friendly fixture against Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise, with Adi Hütter making his managerial debut with the club from the sideline on Monday, July 10.
The newly appointed Austrian tactician composed his starting line-up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, and opted to feature many young players from the academy, while incorporating more experienced players among the forwards, with Aleksandr Golovin and Wissam Ben Yedder both making an appearance.
The Monegasques started strongly, recovering balls and creating chances, but were unable to register a goal before the Belgians. With no escape from the sun on the pitch of the Performance Centre in the hills above Monaco, a necessary cooling break stifled the intensity of the match, but the visitors nevertheless scored thanks to a calm and collected finish from Victor Boniface at the 42nd minute.
Hütter took the opportunity to reform his starting XI over the course of the halftime break, bringing on Mayssam Benama for his first professional appearance. It was on an action started by Benama that the hosts finally found their goal, as the rookie played a long ball to Malamine Efekele, who found Kevin Volland, who found Gelson Martins with an accurate cross. The Portuguese winger scored to save the day with just over a quarter of an hour left to play.
Further efforts were made to score by both teams right down to the final whistle, when a focused Yann Lienard blocked an attempt by Gustaf Nilsson to hold on to a draw for Monaco. Watch the highlights below.
This is just the start of a very busy pre-season schedule, as the Monegasques prepare for a demanding trip to England after facing Cercle Brugge on Saturday, July 15. Monaco will face off against La Liga side Real Betis on Wednesday, July 19, before playing against Leeds United on Saturday, July 22. As if that isn’t enough preparation, Monaco will take on Premier League giants Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, August 2.
