It had been a subdued night in Monaco, with Manchester City sleepwalking to victory until Nico González kicked Eric Dier in the face in a failed attempt to defend a free-kick. Chaos ensued with a melee as City lost their cool and the chance of a perfect Champions League start, before Dier calmly slotted home a last-minute penalty.
City have only themselves to blame for not finishing off a stubborn Monaco off earlier. Erling Haaland proved there was such a thing as a sure bet as he increased his club tally to 11 goals in eight games, only to have his work undone by two incidents of poor defending.
First, Jordan Teze was allowed too much space on the edge of the box, as he curled the first equaliser into the top corner and the foul for the penalty was at best naive. For González to raise his leg so high when defending a set piece was ill-judged, even if he made contact with the ball, with opponents buzzing around. Dier’s nose took the force of the Spaniard’s shinpad but it was worth the pain as Monaco got a point.
The anger City showed when it was clear the incident was being reviewed would have been better used when the ball was in play. Gianluigi Donnarumma took the ball while the referee, Jesús Gil Manzano, jogged towards the pitchside monitor. The City goalkeeper was joined by Monaco players and Rúben Dias got in the middle of the matter before the backroom staff and teammates got involved. A Monaco coach was sent off, delaying the referee finally pointing to the spot. Dier was one of few to not relinquish their calm and did the rest.
City should have finished the contest far earlier, enjoying 18 shots, but got only six on target. They enjoyed almost three-quarters of the possession but were unable to find a third goal, hindered by Monaco’s low block and a slow tempo. Equally, they had shown defensive vulnerability throughout the match, allowing Monaco more opportunities than their limited attacking intent merited.
The Stade Louis II provides a tepid atmosphere and there was little in the opening skirmishes to suggest the crowd would be awoken by anything happening on the pitch. City were quiet in the opening quarter of an hour, doing their best to build attacks without finding a spark. City, however, are packed with quality players who have the ability to change things in a split second. On this occasion it was Josko Gvardiol’s turn to provide the dynamism, clipping a ball over the Monaco centre-backs for Haaland to reach, stretching his legs to flick over the onrushing Philipp Köhn with his first touch of the match.
If this was supposed to be the beginning of the procession, Monaco were not willing victims, despite missing several key players. Folarin Balogun immediately missed a fine chance to equalise when he could not make contact with a header. He was relieved moments later thanks to lazy midfield play for City, who allowed Teze, a defender pushed into central midfield, too much time on the edge of the box. He picked his spot in the top corner and executed the shot perfectly to level three minutes after the opener.
When Vanderson left the pitch in tears after becoming the latest Monaco player to succumb to injury, City took advantage of the rejig. Tijjani Reijnders went close with a low drive from the edge of the box, Bernardo Silva’s looping header to the back post was unfortunate to not find a teammate to finish off the move and Phil Foden sent a further warning by crashing a shot off the bar.
Moments after missing a fine chance to retake the lead, Haaland made amends by leaping to head a Nico O’Reilly cross precisely into the corner. It was a deserved second, giving them a platform to build on.
The performance epitomised Haaland, scoring twice after seven touches to bring up 52 goals in 50 Champions League matches. With Monaco operating in the lowest of blocks, it was imperative that the Norwegian was clinical when the chances arose, aided with his physical attributes. Without his strength, he would have not reached the pass for the opener nor jumped a height Mondo Duplantis would be proud of for the second.
For all the control, City remained vulnerable at the back. Balogun again missed a superb chance to bring parity when he found himself unmarked at the back post; he could not provide the quality Haaland does, to City’s relief. Soon after that, Krépin Diatta should have done better after catching O’Reilly daydreaming and Maghnes Akliouche forced Donnarumma into a smart save to his right.
It felt as if a third was required for City to be comfortable in the latter stages but it never came. There will be plenty of debate about the referee’s decision but City will be irritated by their failings when victory was there for the taking, while Dier and Monaco worked hard for their little bit of late fortune.
