Adi Hütter: "We never gave up trying to get a point"

Relieved by the fact of having come back into the game despite difficult weather conditions in Zagreb (2-2), the Monegasque coach spoke at a press conference.

They have once again shown character. After winning in the last minute against Montpellier, the AS Monaco players this time came back from a two-goal deficit away to Dinamo Zagreb to save a 2-2 draw despite terrible conditions. After the match, coach Adi Hütter spoke in the post-match press conference. 🎙️

To be honest, in the end it is a good point for us. I want to salute the mentality of my players who did not give up while playing in difficult conditions. Of course we can't be forgetting to congratulate Dinamo Zagreb, who played a very good game. I can't say that I am happy, but after being behind by two goals, I must say that I am satisfied to get a draw, even if we wanted a victory.

Good evening coach. How do you feel after this draw?

To be honest, in the end it is a good point for us. I want to salute the mentality of my players who did not give up while playing in difficult conditions. Of course we can’t be forgetting to congratulate Dinamo Zagreb, who played a very good game. I can’t say that I am happy, but after being behind by two goals, I must say that I am satisfied to get a draw, even if we wanted a victory.

What did you think of the atmosphere tonight?

It’s not really my place to talk about the stadium. I know that Dinamo fans are very passionate, and they were again this evening. For my part, it was difficult to see the pitch tonight because of the weather conditions, which also didn’t favour our fast football. It was really not easy to play.

Were you afraid that the match would be interrupted?

These are special circumstances, but everyone knew about it, that’s football and that’s nature. The conditions were the same for both teams, it was really not easy to play. But I want to congratulate Zagreb again who nevertheless managed to develop a good style of play today. They were very compact at the back with this five-man defence and played very well in transitions.

Moreover, we conceded this goal on the counterattack just before half-time. It was a bad moment for us. Then we didn’t come back into the game well, not knowing how to play in these circumstances. But what I liked is that we never gave up, and did what was necessary to bring back a point. So congratulations to my team for that.

Is it this sort of reaction that shows pride, like against Montpellier, that you want to remember?

We were lucky to come back twice indeed, so we have to be careful! Even if against Montpellier, we deserved to win the match. Today we are lucky to come back after being behind by two goals. In the Champions League, every point is difficult to take, especially here in Zagreb against Dinamo. In the end, we are happy to bring back this point.

It was a risk to take to go for a draw and then a victory at the end, because we could have conceded a third goal and it would have been over. But it is our mentality to always go for the best result, and we showed the right state of mind to turn things around.

Will recovery be more difficult given tonight’s conditions?

It is certain that tonight’s match was not easy, particularly because of the pitch. It was very difficult to play once again, but we have three days to recover and very good players on the bench who will be able to help us on Saturday against Stade Rennais.

We wanted to do everything to get our attackers on to level the match. It was a risk to take to go for a draw and then a victory at the end, because we could have conceded a third goal and it would have been over. But it is our mentality to always go for the best result, and we showed the right state of mind to turn things around.

I also want to congratulate Denis Zakaria who converted the penalty under pressure and in a very beautiful way. He once again had a very good match. When you are two goals behind, you have to take risks, and that is the message we want to get across to our players. If we don’t do it, we may not come back in this match, so I am happy with the attitude and the mentality of my players to come back.

What did you think of the Dinamo players?

I have to say that Bruno Petkovic had a great game, he was very strong tonight. I also want to congratulate Martin Baturina, and not only because he scored the second goal. Everyone around the pitch saw his qualities tonight, he is only 21 years old, and he will certainly be a very interesting player in the future in this position.