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Monaco head coach Leonardo Jardim insists the 1-1 draw against UEFA
Champions League debutants RB Leipzig will prove to be a valuable point
away from home.
The Ligue 1 Champions were knocked out of the semi-final stage of the competition by Juventus last season and after losing first-team stars Bernardo Silva, Tiemoué Bakayoko, Benjamin Mendy and Kylian Mbappé, a rebuilding process is underway at the Stade Louis II.
And while the new arrivals adapt to life under the tutelage of the Portuguese tactician, Jardim praised their resilience against the tireless Die Bullen side.
"Disappointed? We always come to win matches, of course. But we played with our squad. Every year it's a new story, a new team," he said after the game. "There's no need to compare with us with the Monaco from last year. We knew this Leipzig team well, we knew they had a lot of physical impact.
"We put together an 11 to deal with it, also putting some physicality into the game, and it worked well. But Leipzig kept their whole squad together from last year, they know how to play together perfectly, whereas we have been integrating players for a few days. But we have a lot of room for improvement."
One of the off-season replacements, Youri Tielemans managed to get on the score-sheet to cancel out Emil Forsberg's opener for the Bundesliga side and Keita Baldé who arrived from Lazio last month - reiterated Jardims sentiments after Les Monégasques recovered from their 4-0 mauling against OGC Nice on Saturday.
"It was an interesting match. It wasn't easy. This is a good result for the team. The team reacted very well after the Nice match.
"Monaco is a great team, with a lot of character, personality, and with good individual abilities. In the Champions League, it's impressive to avoid defeat."
