On Thursday, Barcelona take on AS Monaco in their opening league phase match of the 2024-25 Champions League. It will be second time in several weeks that the two teams have faced each other, with the first meeting taking place in the Joan Gamper Trophy, the Catalans’ final pre-season friendly.
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On that occasion, Monaco ran out 3-0 winners. That result caused some concerns at Barcelona, although those have been answered emphatically in the first few matches of the season – Hansi Flick’s side have won all five.
Monaco manager Adi Hutter recognises that the Joan Gamper Trophy clash will have little bearing on Thursday’s encounter, as per Marca.
“We can’t take that game as a reference because since then they have made five wins in five games. I think Barcelona were unlucky to lose the Gamper. We cannot take that precedent as a reference. Things have changed a lot, Flick has been able to put his system in place much better but we’re also ready.”
Hutter also stressed the importance of his Monaco side shutting down the attacking quality of Barcelona.
“It’s not easy to defend against them, we have to do it as a team and row all in the same direction. The team has to be very brave and go all out because we not only have to take Lamine Yamal out of the game, but also Raphinha, Lewandowski, Ferran Torres… That’s the key.”
