Myron Boadu is not in the base at AS Monaco on Tuesday evening in the hunt for a ticket to the Champions League. The attacker, who came over from AZ, has to sit on the bench from trainer Niko Kovac for the first game against Ukrainian Shakhtar Donetsk in the play-offs of the European billion-dollar ball. The duel in the Stade Louis II in the principality is led by Danny Makkelie and will start at 9 p.m.
Boadu made a transfer from AZ to AS Monaco at the beginning of this month and was allowed to make his debut for the Monegasques a few days later. He was in the starting line-up in the home game against Nantes FC (1-1) on the first day of Ligue 1 and was taken off after 59 minutes. Last Friday Boadu appeared again at the starting signal. In the 1-0 defeat at Lorient, he was on the field for 57 minutes.
Shakhtar is the last hurdle for AS Monaco to reach the group stage of the Champions League. In the third preliminary round, Kovac’s team was too strong for Sparta Prague with 0-2 and 3-1. For Boadu, when he comes in, it will be match number 22 in Europe, after 19 matches in the (preliminary rounds of) Europa League and 2 in the (preliminary rounds of) Champions League. A year ago he also participated in the Champions League matches of AZ with Viktoria Plzen (3-1 win) and Dynamo Kiev (2-0 loss).
It is Makkelie’s first game in the new European season, after having whistled his last international game on 7 July. Then Makkelie was the referee in the semi-final of the European Championship between England and Denmark (2-1). Makkelie whistled a total of four duels at the European final tournament.
Line-up AS Monaco: Majecki; Sidibé, Badiashile, Maripan, Caio Henrique; Martins, Tchouameni, Fofana, Golovin; Ben Yedder and Volland.
Shakhtar Donetsk line-up: Trubin; Dodo, Vitao, Marlon, Matviyenko; Maycon, Marcos Antonio; Tete, Pedrinho, Solomon; Traore.