UCL: Dier penalty sees Monaco snatch a point against City
It was a thrilling encounter to the last at the Stade Louis-II as AS Monaco -- missing several key players -- earned a valiant point against Manchester City in the Champions League. Read on for our match report.
A first start for Fati, and Köhn keeps the hosts in it
With several key absences, particularly in midfield, a visit from Pep Guardiola's side was never to going to be easy, even if Les Monégasques had been at full strength. In light of a lack of options, manager Adi Hütter lined his side up with a three-man defence and played Jordan Teze -- normally a right back -- in central midfield alongside youngster Mamadou Coulibaly. Hütter also handed a first start to Ansu Fati, rewarding the on-loan winger for having scored four goals in three appearances off the bench.
The start of the match was tentative, with Monaco lacking in experience given the occasion, and the hosts also having to deal with Vanderson being forced off injured. It was on the Citizens' first chance of that match that Erling Haaland managed to beat Philipp Köhn with a lob, but Monaco responded quickly, with Teze finding the top corner to beat Gianluigi Donnarumma. Still in the first half, Köhn would recover from having conceded, pulling off three fine saves and seeing Phil Foden hit the bar, but there was little he could do about a diving header by Haaland, who put the English side back ahead just before the break (44').
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Cold-blooded Dier earns a point for Monaco
In the second half, Monaco seemed far more up for the task, as Folarin Balogun was just short of reaching a ball at the far post, while Maghnes Akliouche forced a smart save from Donnarumma, both before the hour. Köhn then stopped Haaland getting a hat trick with fifteen minutes to play, a fortuitous moment which encouraged Hütter to roll the dice inside the final ten minutes.
Bringing on the trio of midfielder Pape Cabral and strikers Mika Biereth and George Ilenikhena was a bold move, but one which paid dividends almost immediately. Bolstered by more options in attack, Monaco poured forward, and Eric Dier won a penalty with three minutes of normal time remaining. The Englishman coolly converted (on his first-ever career penalty, no less), making the final score two-all, a noble result given the circumstances.
Next up for Monaco will be another challenging match in Ligue 1 McDonald's: the Côte d'Azur derby against OGC Nice, but for the moment the Principality side can rest easy after picking up what could prove a very useful point in difficult circumstances.
