Monday, July 18, 2022 at 12:13• Guy Habets • Last update: 13:06

AS Monaco will be the opponent of PSV in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. The draw in Nyon showed that. The first leg will be played in the Stade Louis II on 2 or 3 August, after which the return will take place in Eindhoven on 9 August. Should the formation of trainer Ruud van Nistelrooij win the diptych, it will end up in the play-offs and it will be very close to the group stage of the billion-dollar ball.

The Monegasques are no strangers to PSV, because the two teams already met last season. Then it became 1-2 for Monaco in the Philips Stadium in the group stage of the Europa League and the return game in the mini-state was 0. -0 played a draw. At Monaco, two Dutchmen are under contract with Anthony Musaba and Myron Boadu. The latter scored against PSV in October of last year.

Last season, former coach Roger Schmidt’s PSV entered the second qualifying round of the Champions League and reached the play-offs via victories over Galatasaray and FC Midtjylland, where it lost to Benfica. This year, the people of Eindhoven get a new chance under Van Nistelrooij and they can even enter a round later. The third heat will kick off in Monaco on Tuesday 2 or Wednesday 3 August, after which the return will take place on Tuesday 9 August in the Philips Stadium.

If PSV survive that diptych, it will end up in the play-offs to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League. They will be played on 16/17 and 23/24 August. If the Eindhoven players are eliminated in the third preliminary round, they will enter the group stage of the Europa League. A play-off round is therefore not necessary. Even if PSV survive the third qualifying round of the Champions League and then lose in the play-offs, the Europa League group stage is the safety net.

Full draw for the third qualifying round of the Champions League:

AS Monaco (Fra) – PSV

Dinamo Kiev (Uk)/Fenerbahçe (Tur) – Sturm Graz (East)

Union Saint-Gilles (Bel) – Rangers (Sch)

Benfica (Por) – FC Midtjylland (Den)/AEK Larnaca (Cyp)