Manchester: Goals galore, South American skills, English power and French finesse – all were there in plenty as Manchester City beat Monaco 5-3 in a breathless and dizzyingly end-to-end Champions League last 16 first-leg encounter at a rocking Etihad Stadium here Tuesday.
Raheem Sterling put City ahead, only for Radamel Falcao to level before Kylian Mbappe putting the visitors leading. Falcao scored his second goal of the match with a magnificent chip – as Leonardo Jardim’s side moved into a 3-2 with around 28 minutes remaining in the game. In between early in the second half Falcao missed a penalty with his side leading 2-1. Had he scored then the job would have become doubly difficult for the hosts.
But City struck three times in the last 19 minutes, through Sergio Aguero (2), the second a classic side-footed volley, John Stones and Leroy Sane, to put Pep Guardiola’s men in charge ahead of the return leg March 15.
The English Premier League is considered to be the most powerful and stamina-consuming among all the top leagues in the world. It came to the fore as the pace of the game started to tell on Monaco and they simply ran out of breath in the last 20 minutes of the game.
Mbappe took Valere Germain’s place alongside Falcao in Monaco’s starting XI and the 18-year-old in the orange boots immediately caught the eye leaving a couple of City defenders dead with his sheer speed.
It was City, though, who went in front in the 26th minute. Sane lit the fuse, dancing away from three players on the left and exchanging passes with David Silva before crossing for Sterling to slide home from close range.
But within six minutes Monaco were level as Guardiola’s goalkeeping problems came back to bite him. He had restored Willy Caballero to his line-up, but it was the goalkeeper’s faulty clearance that enabled Monaco to equalise.
His loose, lofted clearance gifted possession to Fabinho, the Brazilian playing a one-two with Bernardo Silva and crossing for Falcao to net with a flying header.
A few minutes later Monaco won a free-kick on halfway, but Fabinho was still allowed to find Mbappe, who steadied himself before finishing coolly.
City levelled deep into the second half courtesy of a howler from Subasic, who allowed Aguero’s shot to go right through him at his near post after a storming run down the right from Sterling.
But the momentum swung back Monaco’s way just three minutes later when Falcao shrugged off Stones and then lofted an exquisite right-foot chip over Caballero from just 15 yards.
But that was the end of the road for Monaco as City scripted a brilliant turnaround with three quick strikes.
AFP