Erling Haaland’s brace was not enough to lift Manchester City to victory over Monaco after a late penalty forced Pep Guardiola’s side to settle for a point.
Two weeks after securing a 2–0 victory over Napoli to open their 2025–26 Champions League campaign, Man City made the trip to France looking to collect another three points, this time against Monaco. The two sides clashed at the Stade Louis II for the first time since a teenage Kylian Mbappé led the French outfit.
Monaco frustrated the Cityzens early on Wednesday evening, defending with a disciplined low block that Guardiola’s men meticulously looked to break down in the opening 10 minutes of the fixture. Yet all it took was a single opening for Haaland to strike.
Joško Gvardiol lofted a brilliant ball over the top to find the striker, who needed just one acrobatic touch to send a half-volley into the back of the net. The 15th-minute goal extended Haaland’s scoring streak to eight consecutive matches for club and country.
⚡️ @ErlingHaaland ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/IBj7XS1EAY
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 1, 2025
Just three minutes after Man City took the lead, Monaco got themselves right back in the game through a superb curling strike from Jordan Teze. Gianluigi Donnarumma had no chance of stopping the effort that bent into the top corner.
Level at 1–1, the Cityzens once again relied on Haaland to restore their lead. The Norway international headed home a cross from Nico O’Reilly on the brink of halftime to send his side down the tunnel with a one-goal cushion.
The second half lacked the goalscoring of the first, though not for a lack of chances. Man City and Monaco each came close to changing the course of the game, but both Donnarumma and Philipp Köhn stood tall to keep the scoreline at 2–1 until late drama unfolded at the Stade Louis II.
In an attempted clearance, Nico González caught Eric Dier in the face with a high boot inside the penalty box. Tensions flared between the two sides, forcing referee Jesús Gil Manzano to brandish two red cards to each respective bench on his way to the monitor to review the challenge.
The Spanish official soon returned to the pitch and pointed to the spot. Dier then made no mistake from 12 yards out and brought Monaco level in the 90th minute to deny Man City three points on the night.
Check out Man City’s player ratings from the match below.
Man City Player Ratings vs. Monaco (4-1-4-1)
Subs not used: James Trafford (GK), Marcus Bettinelli (GK), Nathan Aké, Rico Lewis, Divine Mukasa, Mateo Kovačić, Oscar Bobb.
Player of the Match: Erling Haaland
Monaco (3-4-2-1): Philipp Köhn; Thilo Kehrer, Eric Dier, Mohammed Salisu; Vanderson, Mamadou Coulibaly, Jordan Teze, Krépin Diatta; Maghnes Akliouche, Ansu Fati; Folarin Balogun.
Subs: Kassoum Ouattara, Stanis Idumbo, George Ilenikhena, Pape Cabral.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Man City Player Ratings vs. Monaco: Late Drama Denies Cityzens Three Points in 2–2 Draw.
