After PSV – Monaco – ASM traumatized: “Against Shakhtar, already, it was a goal in the last moments …”

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The question of trauma is a hobby of French football. Since one evening in March 2017, it has irremediably affected Paris Saint-Germain. In the Champions League, it is never very far either from Olympique de Marseille, which joined the club of “zero points” in the group stage almost ten years ago now but still marked. Monaco, which was sometimes the great exception on the European scene, now continues to forge a strange link with the C1.
This Tuesday evening, against PSV, the Rock club said goodbye in the most prestigious of European competitions when he ended up putting a foot and a half there, after Wissam Ben Yedder had concluded a nice counter, 20 minutes from the end of regulation time for this 3rd preliminary round. Philippe Clément’s men, technically, tactically and above all physically superior, plunged at the worst moment. Once again.

10 HOURS AGO

The scenario was strangely reminiscent of the play-off disputed a year ago, against Shakhtar, when the Monegasques had conceded a goal in the last quarter of an hour before suffering the coup de grace at the end of extra time (114th). This time, they did worse: De Jong gave the Eindhoven team the advantage in the 109th, while Gutierrez had equalized … in the 89th. And to say that without a goal conceded in the 90th + 6 in Lens during the last day of Ligue 1, ASM would not have had to experience this new blow …

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“It’s cruelsummarized Axel Disasi at the microphone of Canal+ after the meeting. I think we are the better team in both matches. We were solid and consistent, we gave them problems but they were more effective than us. Already against Shakhtar, it was a goal in the last moments. Lens was also in the final moments. There, it is still in the last moments…“. And it’s starting to do a lot.

In recent months, the ASM has taken the annoying habit of suffering a big brake every time it seems launched for good. A little over six months ago, however, the entity and its sporting director, Paul Mitchell, decided to dismiss Niko Kovac in a surprising way, considering that “the potential, the goals, the ambition of this club were not satisfied.” Since then, the team has progressed on and off the pitch. But the bottom line hasn’t changed.

Don’t make the same mistakes again

After the few vague seasons that followed Luis Campos’ winning consignment strategy, Monaco had given a clear direction to its project, with spending on the transfer market controlled. The arrivals of experienced talents in the major championships, such as those of Takumi Minamino or Breel Embolo, showed that the club was preparing to take a step forward. Eventually, he will have to settle for the Europa League.

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Indirectly, he even complicated the task for his medium-term future, while Mitchell recalled that the goal was “to have a club that is able to have good results over time.” “The most important now is the reactionanalyzed Philippe Clément hot. Players need to learn from last year when disappointment lost points in the league. We can’t repeat that this year.”

By losing to PSV, Monaco did a disservice to the UEFA index of France, justly hot on the heels of the Netherlands for fifth place. Ligue 1 thought it had three direct tickets for the “new look” C1 from the 2024-2025 season. That may not be the case. And if, on top of that, ASM have to live with trauma every time they try to qualify for the Champions League, the mission could end up being extremely difficult.

Luuk de Jong of PSV celebrates his 3-2 during the UEFA Champions League match between PSV v AS Monaco at the Philips Stadium on August 9, 2022 in Eindhoven Netherlands.

Credit: Getty Images

YESTERDAY AT 9:38 PM

YESTERDAY AT 9:38 PM

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