French outfits Monaco, Rennes, Nantes and Nice on Thursday begin their European campaigns in the Europa League and the Europa League Conference.
Monaco, who botched their chance to play in the Champions League following a defeat to PSV Eindhoven in the qualifying rounds, travel to Red Star Belgrade in Group H.
“We’ve been through a rough couple of weeks,” said Monaco boss Philippe Clément after the 1-0 victory at Nice on Sunday. “We’ve reacted well to all of it and have managed to win a difficult match. Red Star will be another tough game and then there’s another one against Lyon on Sunday.”
Rennes launch their Group B campaign in Cyprus at Larnaka.
“It’s a good thing we’ve got a good team,” said Rennes boss Bruno Genesio. “We’ve got to get out there and get the ball rolling. It’s not just a question of the team’s success, it’s a question of the team’s ability to win the title.”
Nantes qualified for the competition after outwitting Christophe Galtier’s Nice in the final of the 2022 Coupe de France. Their Group G adventure begins at home to Olympiakos.
“The objective is simple,” said Nantes boss Antoine Kombouaré. “We’ll see how it goes afterwards but we want to do well in this group and why not qualify for the knockout stages?
“When the draw was made we were a bit disappointed because we wanted to draw a big team but then we said: ‘There’s a chance to get something from this tournament so why not go all out for it?'”
Slump
Following last Sunday’s defeat which left them 16th in Ligue 1 with five points, Nice host the Bundesliga side Cologne in the Europa League Conference.
“It’s obvious that it has been a difficult time for everybody” said Nice boss Lucien Favre. “It’s up to us – the coaches and the players – to change things.
Favre, who took over from Galtier in June, added: “We can’t rely on anybody else. We have to stay positive.”
Nice were in the running for a place in the Champions League up until the final two months of the 2021/2022 season. Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille – who claimed the berths in European football’s most prestigious club competition – were in action on Tuesday and Wednesday.
PSG edged past Juventus while Marseille lost at Tottenham Hotspur.
Source: Modern Ghana
