Preparing for life back in the second tier following their relegation from the Premier League last season, Leeds have overseen plenty of changes from top to bottom at the football club, with the appointment of manager Daniel Farke followed by several first-team departures and the official takeover of the club by 49ers Enterprises.
Indeed, the EFL confirmed the sale of the West Yorkshire side to the San Francisco-based consortium last Monday, bringing an end to Andrea Radrizzani’s six-year reign as the club’s majority shareholder.
The focus can now shift towards duties on the pitch, with Farke currently preparing his Leeds side for just their second pre-season friendly of the summer, 10 days after losing their first by a 2-0 scoreline to Manchester United in Oslo.
The Whites struggled to pose a real threat in front of goal, but they managed to frustrate the Red Devils for three quarters of the contest before youngsters Noam Emeran and Joe Hugill came off the bench to help Erik ten Hag’s side come out on top.
Leeds will now renew acquaintances with a Monaco side against whom they suffered a 4-2 friendly defeat at Elland Road this time last year. Fixtures against Nottingham Forest and Hearts will follow before the Whites begin the new Championship season at home to Cardiff City on August 6.
Monaco, meanwhile, are hoping to put aside their disappointing end to the 2022-23 campaign, in which they lost their final three Ligue 1 matches and slipped to sixth in the table, failing to qualify for European competition altogether.
Philippe Clement was relieved of his duties last month and he has since been replaced by Austrian coach Adi Hutter, who returns to management after a year away from the dugout – the 53-year-old’s last job was a 10-month spell with Borussia Monchengladbach between July 2021 and May 2022.
Links >> Stream 1 HD Stream 2 HD Stream 3 HD Stream 4 HD
Monaco kick-started their pre-season preparations with a 1-1 home draw with Union SG two weeks ago, before suffering a 3-0 away defeat to another Belgian side in Cerele Brugge. However, the Les Rouge et Blanc picked up their first warm-up win against Real Betis on Wednesday, securing a 3-1 victory in a behind-closed-doors match at England’s training complex St George’s Park.
After a goalless first half, Kevin Volland (2) and Takumi Minamino fired Monaco into a three-goal lead before Raul Garcia netted a consolation header for Betis nine minutes from time.
Monaco’s clash with Leeds represents their penultimate friendly fixture against English opposition, as they are scheduled to face Arsenal in the Emirates Cup in North London in between warm-up matches with Genoa and Bayern Munich, before beginning the new Ligue 1 season away to Clermont on August 13.
