AS Monaco's struggles continued again in what was Thierry Henry's managerial debut in the UEFA Champions League. The French outfit who has been crippled with injuries to key players in recent times took the lead against Club Brugge through Moussa Sylla's goal in the 31st-minute.
Nonetheless, their hopes of possibly overturning an 11-match winless streak were dashed after Wesley Moraes scored for the Belgian side to ensure that spoils were shared. While maintaining their bottom rank status in Group A with the draw, Thierry Henry's new side simultaneously stretched its winless run in the Champions League to 11. The principality club's last win in the competition came in the epic 6-3 aggregate victory over Borussia Dortmund during the quarter-finals of the 2016/2017 season.
In a development related to Wednesday's draw inside the Jan Breydel Stadium, the Thierry Henry exercised his ruthlessness by replacing substitute Sofiane Diop with Jean-Eudes Aholou in the 73rd minute. The former came on for Stevan Jovetic in the 12-minute after the forward sustained an injury.
Speaking after the encounter, Henry – who was satisfied with the input of Diop – commended the effort of the 18-year-old and a host of his teammates.
"It is a positive result after this very difficult match, especially with the second half. We could have better managed the counters. I liked our intensity, our balance on the counter. It's never easy to take points here in Bruges, especially in our situation in the league.
"I found confidence in the fighting spirit, in the aggressiveness of my team. There was a lot of support on our counter attacks. I find these as positive points to move forward. We have been solid.
"We do not get excited, even if we took a point away in the Champions League. It's never easy. Little by little, we try to construct something," Henry concluded.
The Frenchman and his men will now prepare to host Dijon in Ligue 1 as they face the challenge to get out of the relegation zone.
