Leonardo Jardim’s Monaco completed a remarkable second leg comeback to knock Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City out of the UEFA Champions League. The first leg between the two sides ended up being a goal fest with the Manchester outfit winning it 5-3.
Monaco needed to score at least to bring the tie level on aggregate, which would ensure their progression to the quarter-final courtesy of the much-maligned away goal rule. Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring for the home side in the 8th minute before Fabinho doubled the tally in the 29th minute.
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Leroy Sane pulled one back for the visitors in the 71st minute putting Manchester City ahead in terms of goal scored. However, their joy was short-lived as Tiemoue Bakayoko scored the winner only 8 minutes later. The loss meant that Pep Guardiola crashed out of the UEFA Champions League in the round of 16 for the first time in his career. It also meant that reigning Premier League champions Leicester City are the only remaining English team in the elite competition.
Here are the biggest talking points from the game:
Pep’s decision to drop Yaya Toure proved costly
Manchester City’s defensive woes this season are well documented and despite that when Pep Guardiola opted to start only 1 defensive midfielder in Fernandinho against Monaco, it was always going to be risky.
The decision to field 5 attackers backfired as Jardim's side coasted to a 2-goal lead within the first 30 mins. The already leaky defence of the Citizens was further exposed due to the lack of added reinforcements in front of them allowing the Monaco attackers to run riot.
Guardiola’s tendency to tinker with the formation and the line-up has had mixed results in the recent past and it must force the Spaniard to reconsider his tactics with the quality of the squad available to him.
Kylian Mbappe is destined for great things
France have some of Europe’s most coveted youngsters coming through the ranks at various clubs across the globe. From Ousmane Dembele to Moussa Dembele (Celtic), we have read, watched and celebrated many, if not all of these prodigious talents making thier way into the Les Blues setup.
However, one player has taken this season to announce his arrival to the world. At 18 years of age, Kylian Mbappe has 17 goals and 10 assists in 31 games for Monaco in all competition. In the absence of Falcao, like last night, the youngster has risen to the occasion and delivered the goods.
He scored against City in the reverse fixture back in February and again found the back of the net last night. His stellar performances this season have led to comparisons with Arsenal and France legend Thierry Henry but if the 18-year-old keeps coming up with performances like these, then who would argue against the comparisons?
Raheem Sterling needs to improve his finishing
When Manchester City decided to shell out £49 million for the services of Raheem Sterling in 2015, not many doubted the potential the former QPR man possessed but there were red-flags raised about the Englishman’s finishing, or the lack there of.
Guardiola has already established that he preferes Sane and Sterling up top with Gabriel Jesus. With Sergio Aguero being reduced to a bit-part role, filling in the shoes of the one who misses out, in this case Jesus.
While Sane has been thriving in the role, chipping in with key goals like he did last night and in the first leg, Sterling has failed to deliver the goods when City had their backs against the wall and has especially let down by his finishing.
Although it is not necessary for an elite footballer to be prolific in front of goal – if he is exceptional in other departments – it remains to be seen how long a top European club like Manchester City persist with the Englishman, especially if better, more prolific options become available. Sterling needs to put in extra work on his finishing with an aim to improve it, or he risks being relegated to the role of a bit-part player.
Are Monaco heading towards a summer exodus of talent?
In football, success on the big stage, inevitably, leads to fleeting glances from Europe’s elite. Leonardo Jardim’s Monaco are easily one of the most entertaining teams in club football at the moment and as stats prove are one of the most prolific too.
The Monaco team is brimming with youngsters full of potential who have set alight the Ligue 1 and the UEFA Champions League. However, with the adulation and the praise that Jardim’s side are recieving comes attention of the big clubs with bottomless pits of cash.
Young stars like Mbappe, Thomas Lemar, Tiemoue Bakayoko among others have all made their way to the scouting reports of Europe’s elite and come June it won’t be a surprise if this young and exciting Monaco side is dismantled due to an exodus of their brightest talents.
Only 1 English team in the last 8 of Champions League
Fans and pundits alike take every opportunity to laud the Premier League as the best football league in club football. From the presence of some of the biggest names, to the exciting brand of football exhibited by the clubs, many arguments have been made in support of the said notion.
However, Monaco’s incredible comeback last night means that only 1 English team is now left in the competition, and we are just past the round of 16. That one team – without no disrespect – is Leicester City, the reigning Premier League champions, who were relegation-threatened until a few weeks back and had sacked possibly their greatest ever manager following a defeat in the first-leg of the Champions League clash against Sevilla last month.
Also Read: Twitter reacts to Monaco’s epic comeback against Manchester City
The Foxes scripted one of the most incrediblel fairtytales in football forklore last season and could still go on to win the Champions League. But having 1 team in the last 8 of Europe’s elite competition highlights that probably the argument ‘Premier League is the best league in the world’ does not hold true after all.
There is no denying the presence of world class stars or the capability of English clubs to pay wages that their counterparts from other countries fail to match but apart from the obvious drop in UEFA coefficient it also signals a drop in the level of football exhibited by these said big clubs of England. It is time England stopped basking in the glory of being hailed as the best league in the world and started working towards becoming one, like it was one might argue.
