Impassive, Philippe Clement scratches his bald head before going to greet his counterpart Antoine Kombouaré. On the pitch, many Monegasque players remain on the ground, totally exhausted. After having experienced the qualification for the Coupe de France of his new team in the stands of Rouen on Monday in Quevilly (3-1), the 47-year-old Belgian coach was in charge of his first match this Sunday at the Beaujoire stadium in Nantes. The double Belgian champion in title with Club Bruges, leaves with a scoreless and featureless draw (0-0). We will probably have to wait a little longer to see him install his paw on the game of Monaco, which had lost only one of its last 12 games with Niko Kovac, sacked on December 30.
Philippe Clement, rather a follower of a soft method unlike his Croatian predecessor, had announced that he did not want to “revolutionize” anything. The four sessions he has led since his arrival had nevertheless been a little longer.
Twenty very good minutes, and then …
The only innovation in his 4-2-3-1 in the absence of Ben Yedder, Fofana, Disasi (Covid), Fabregas, Golovine (injured), the change of position of Caio Henrique. Usual left side, the Brazilian is in support of Volland, playmaker. The Monegasques started strong while their Belgian coach, more carefully donned a parka, over his elegant suit and tie. But following twenty very good first minutes where we saw variety in his offensive movements and very high pressing, ASM gradually died out. Clement had to review his defense plans with the successive injury exits of Sidibé (31st) and Badiashile (41st). On his bench, the Belgian coach remains calm but we often see him replacing his players.
“We started well, with a lot of races, play, but no goals, Clement analyzes. The match would have been different if we had scored on Diop’s first strike (5th). Afterwards, the circumstances were not ideal. Our tempo has dropped a bit. Nantes had a few chances. I replaced two players to give more energy. “
Myron Boadu’s entry might have been a winning move. But the Dutch international hope (20 years), bought 17 M € from AZ Alkmaar this summer but only one goal scored this season, missed a huge opportunity (77th). One more … Which provokes in Clement a doubtful pout before a clearly visible annoyance. Hit in a thigh, Boadu, plays on one leg. His trainer, who can no longer make any changes, urges him to leave. But the attacker refuses before collapsing a few minutes later (85th). At ten and, with in addition Diop and Henrique who suffered from cramps, Monaco had to resist. “Boadu was injured and it was difficult,” says Clement. But the mentality stuck. So the mentality we have. We always want to win. Today I saw a team that wanted this the whole game. “
This first was mixed for the new Monegasque coach. With this draw, Monaco (7th) is still far from the podium (6 points behind). “We have to improve our quality of playing forward, have more automatic attack, concludes Clement. We have to create more but we only had 4 days of work. For the podium, we don’t have to calculate now. “
