‘That’s the key’ - Monaco boss talks defending Lewandowski, Raphinha and Lamine Yamal

Monaco boss Adi Hutter has told his team to go ‘all out’ when it comes to defending against Barcelona in the Champions League on Thursday.

Hansi Flick takes his team to France after making a perfect start to the new La Liga season, and Hutter says his players must be brave.

“It’s not easy to defend against them, we have to do it as a team and all row in the same direction,” he told reporters.

“The team has to be very brave and go all out because we don’t just have to get Lamine Yamal out of the game, but also Raphinha, Lewandowski, and Ferran Torres.

“That’s the key. We know perfectly well the quality of a player as young as Lamine Yamal but the key lies in defending well against each and every one of the Barça players, not just Lamine Yamal, and tomorrow we’ll see how we do,

Hutter also told his team to forget about their 3-0 win over Barcelona in the Gamper Trophy in the summer and praised his opposite number for the impact he’s made in Catalunya already.

“Barça is very aggressive in attack and defence. I have a great appreciation for what Hansi is doing. We cannot compare him to what he was like six weeks ago and he is already showing it in the league,” he added.

“We cannot take that game as a reference because since then they have won five games in five with 17 goals in their favour, more than three goals per game, that is a lot.

“We know that they have several injured players but they are in top form and I can see that Hansi Flick is improving a lot in the way he plays with his teams.

“I really appreciate his work but we still have faith in ourselves because we have also made a great start to the season.”

Monaco have also made a good start to the season but have a poor home record in the Champions League recently and have lost their last seven in a row at the Stade Louis II.