AS Monaco saw their slim hopes of qualifying for next season’s UEFA Champions League vanish after a 1-0 defeat to Lille OSC on Sunday evening. The loss leaves the Principality side in seventh place with just one matchday remaining. To have any chance of climbing into sixth, they must win their final game and hope Olympique de Marseille lose to Stade Rennais next weekend. Otherwise, their only path to European football would rely on RC Lens beating OGC Nice in the Coupe de France final, which would grant them a spot in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
‘We don’t get the maximum out of this team’ – Hradecky
Now, any form of European competition would be a relief for Monaco. According to goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, the team did not deserve a third consecutive Champions League campaign.
“Tonight’s match showed that we don’t belong in the Champions League. We can forget about it. Overall, individually, as a club, as a team, we have to do much better,” Hradecky said during a mixed-zone interview attended by Get French Football News.
He added, “The sixth or seventh spot is not what I came to play for. At the end of the day, we are where we deserve to be, and next season has to be better. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror. We have really good players, but as a team, we underperformed. We don’t get the maximum out of this team, and maybe there are multiple reasons. But today, there was not too much freshness. Lille were more controlled on the ball.”