Adi Hütter: "This duel against Club Bruges is a crucial match" | OneFootball

Excited at the idea of ​​starting a second Champions League campaign in a row, the Monaco coach spoke on the eve of the first day of the league phase in Bruges (6:45 p.m.).

Here we go again. Qualified for the second year in a row for the league phase of the Champions League, the Rouge et Blanc are preparing to kick off the 2025-2026 edition this Thursday evening away to Club Bruges (6:45 p.m.). So, 24 hours before this important match, Adi Hütter gave the latest to the media. 🎙️

Regarding the trip to Bruges

Unfortunately, we were unable to leave today. I don’t know if this setback will have any impact, as we are professional and immediately changed our schedule. We will therefore travel to Bruges tomorrow, which is the best possible solution, especially since we already did so for the match against Auxerre on Saturday by traveling the same day. For technical reasons, it was impossible to travel, as everyone’s safety could not be guaranteed. That’s why we decided, in agreement with Thiago Scuro, to only travel tomorrow.

The good news of the day is that Ansu Fati is in the squad for the first time, as is Stanis Idumbo. (...) Ansu won't be ready to start in the starting eleven, especially given the absence of competition for several months, which is normal. But he has done a very good job of re-athleticization, and I see him getting better and better every day in training.

Medical update

Mohammed Salisu was injured in a duel against Auxerre, and will therefore not be available for this trip. Then in the morning we had bad news about Denis Zakaria, who felt something in his adductor and who will therefore be absent for a few weeks. As for Aleksandr Golovin, he will be out for about a month.

On the return of Ansu Fati

The good news of the day is that ’Ansu Fati is in the squad for the first time, as well as Stanis Idumbo. We have a good team, and even if we are hampered by some injuries, we have resources, and injuries are part of football. Ansu will not be ready to start in the starting eleven, especially given his absence from competition for several months, which is normal. But he has done a very good job of re-athleticizing, and I see him getting better and better every day in training. So it is too early to talk about starting, but it will happen in the coming weeks.

On Club Bruges

Club Bruges is a very good team that has played in the Champions League several times in recent seasons and managed to reach the round of 16 last season. They notably won against Atalanta, who are a great team. Earlier in the season, they eliminated Glasgow Rangers in the Champions League play-offs with an aggregate score of 9-1 (3-1 in the first leg, 6-0 in the return, editor’s note). That means a lot to me, and obviously it will be an important match for us tomorrow.

We're ambitious but also humble, even though, based on last season's campaign, we know we have quality. Our goal, above all, is to reach the next round.

The objective for the Champions League

We want to continue our run from last season, where we were drawn in a tough group. This season, we’ll also be facing some big teams, and tomorrow’s match against Bruges is certainly a crucial one. We’re ambitious but also humble, even though, based on last season’s campaign, we know we have quality. Our goal, above all, is to reach the next round.

Photo: Icon Sport

The performances of Mika Biereth

He’s working a lot for the team at the moment, and he’s sometimes too far out of the box, so we need to bring him closer because he’s a big threat in front of goal. Expectations have been very high for him since he arrived at AS Monaco, but he remains calm and humble despite everything. I’m sure he’ll get back to his best very quickly. We believe in all our strikers. We have one of the youngest attacking lines in Europe with Folarin Balogun, George Ilenikhena, Paris Brunner and of course Mika. It all depends on the context and the opponent, several solutions are possible, but what is certain is that we have four very good attackers.

The importance of Denis Zakaria

He is very important because he is our captain, he is a special player, but I do not want to complain about his absence. Because I am also happy to see that Aladji Bamb had a fantastic full debut at Auxerre. He is a fantastic young talent and can be a replacement for Denis, knowing that we also have Mamadou Coulibaly, Lamine Camara obviously and even other players capable of playing in midfield.