AS Monaco didn’t necessarily want to qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League, but having done so, they have inherited a position as one of the favourites to win the competition.

Les Monégasques competed in the UEFA Champions League last season and had the objective of qualifying for that same competition last season. They fell short. It is the first time that the Principality club are competing in the UECL and there is a certain pressure to go far in the competition. Alongside Brighton and Hove Albion and Freiburg, who lost to Aston Villa in last season’s UEFA Europa League final, they are considered one of the favourites.

Speaking in a press conference attended by Get French Football News, Filipe Luís played it down. “Favourites? I don’t think so. As Hansi Flick (Barcelona manager) said on Tuesday, you only win titles in May and June. It is impossible to do so now,” said the Monaco manager.

He added, “We have a lot of things to prove […] it is only at the end of the season that we will see our team’s true level.”