After a bit of rotation, AS Monaco begins its preseason with a win! | OneFootball

At the end of the first preseason match, which allowed Adi Hütter to carry out a thorough review of his squad, the Rouge et Blanc won 1-0 against Cercle Bruges, thus making an ideal start to their pre-season.

It was a victory to kick off the 2025-2026 season! Facing Cercle Bruges in their first warm-up match, AS Monaco won after a match where Adi Hütter was able to rotate his squad (1-0). It was also a win achieved under the watchful eye of President Dmitry Rybolovlev, who was present at the Performance Center, along with the CEOs of the two cousin clubs. ✍️

A very rough first half

At the start of this first preseason match, Adi Hütter positioned his team in a 4-4-2 formation, with Yann Lienard starting in goal. Lucas Michal lined up at right-back, while the attacking duo was  Mika Biereth and Breel Embolo. And it was preseason was in name only, as the start of the match was rough with a lot of contact on both sides, as evidenced by the two yellow cards collected by Valy Konaté, which resulted in his sending off (28′).

Ben Seghir is denied by Delanghe

Before that, Thibo Somers’s evasive cross had flirted with the Monaco goalkeeper’s goal (12′), while Eliesse Ben Seghir’s free kick also went just wide of Delanghe’s goal (18′). Monaco then took the lead, and the Moroccan international earned a penalty after a run but stumbled against the Cercle Bruges goalkeeper (36′) as the first half ended goalless.

Bouabré  is decisive for the opening goal.

At the restart, the Monaco coach conducted a comprehensive squad review, including, a debut for Paris Brunner in La Diagonale. The first chance, however, fell to Aleksandr Golovin, whose right-footed shot went wide (52′). The Rouge et Blanc had a monopoly on the ball and on a cutback from Folarin Balogun, Mamadou Coulibaly saw his shot pushed away by an opposing defender (71′).

However, there was also a moment to cautious when it came to Pieter Gerkens’ shot, which Yann Lienard saved well (77′). After this nervy moment, Saïmon Bouabré, who had just come on, made the difference on the right side and crossed back, forcing Dalangunypole Gomis into an own goal (78′). The winner of the Maurice-Revello Tournament, who was very in form, was then denied by Delanghe in his one-on-one (89′).

Focus on Birmingham for mini-camp

It was the last chance of this first match of the season, which saw AS Monaco win by the narrowest of margins against Cercle Bruges (1-0). The Monegasques will now head to Birmingham for a week-long training camp where two more matches await: Coventry City, July 16 at 6 p.m., then Nottingham Forest on Saturday at 4 p.m.. DAGHE MUNEGU !!! 🇲🇨

📋 Match details:

Friday, July 11 – Performance Center

Preseason: AS Monaco 1-0 Cercle Bruges

Half-time: 0-0

Goals: Own goal by Gomis (78′) for AS Monaco

Yellow cards: C. Henrique (39′), Camara (63′) for AS Monaco; Konaté (19′), (28′), Ravych (63′) for Cercle Bruges

Red card: Konaté (28′) for Cercle Bruges

AS Monaco (1st half): Lienard – C. Henrique, Salisu, Kehrer – Akliouche, Bamba, Zakaria ©, Ben Seghir – Michal, Biereth, Embolo

AS Monaco (2nd half): Lienard – Teze, Singo, Diop, Diatta – Minamino, Coulibaly, Camara, Golovin © – Balogun (Bouabré, 75′), Brunner

Substitutes: Stawiecki, Kiwa, Singo, Teze, Bouabré, Camara, Coulibaly, Diatta, Diop, Golovin, Minamino, Balogun, Brunner