Five Things Learned: AS Monaco 2-2 Manchester City (UEFA Champions League Group-Phase) | OneFootball

Manchester City were punished by a late equaliser away to AS Monaco in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night, despite Erling Haaland’s brace.

The 2023 winners of the competition travelled to the Principality of Monaco off the back of a 5-1 rout over Burnley on Saturday, but with a dooming shadow over their back having lost the last four Champions League away matches.

The in-form Erling Haaland did not touch the ball in the opening 15 minutes – that was until he got on the end of Josko Gvardiol’s dinked pass over the Monaco defence and lobbed the ball over the goalkeeper to score for the eighth consecutive game.

Just three minutes later however, Monaco fired back after Krepin Diatta found space on the left flank and pulled the ball back for Jordan Teze, wh unleashed a rocket into the top left corner to level proceedings.

Just after the half-hour mark, Pep Guardiola’s side thought they had got back in front when Phil Foden saw his right footed shot from the edge of the penalty area strike the crossbar.

With a minute of normal time left in the first-half, Haaland bagged his second on the night after he rose highest to power Nico O’Reilly’s cross into the bottom left corner to restore City’s lead. The visitors went into the break a goal to the good.

Monaco hadn’t posed too much of a threat having just two attempts at goal, despite one of them being converted. However, Le Rocher started to hit back, having plenty of half chances in the second half.

City still seemed in control however, that was until Nico Gonzalez was adjudged to have fouled Eric Dier with a high boot inside the penalty area with five minutes of normal time to play.

Gianluigi Donnarumma sparked chaos after he ran to the dugout to receive instructions from his goalkeeping staff with the match ball in his arms ahead of the penalty kick. Two of City’s backroom staff were given red cards as a result of a touchline disagreement between the two camps.

Dier stepped up to take and sent Donnarumma the wrong way to salvage a point for Les Monégasques. The former Tottenham Hotspur man got his goal against City, just as he did a decade ago in a 4-1 defeat for the Blues.

Here are five things we learnt from Manchester City’s draw away to AS Monaco –

1. Josko Gvardiol is generational

Ever since Gvardiol signed for City in 2023, it’s been evident to see that he’s a colossus at the back. Whether it be at left-back or centre-back, the Croatian has proved his qualities time and time again.

He showed exactly what he can do once again on Wednesday night with a beautiful assist for Haaland’s first goal of the night. Defensively sound and dangerous going forward, he possesses skills that any team in the world would be begging on their knees to have in their side. Luckily, he’s ours.

The 23-year-old was the most accurate passer (97%) to play 45 minutes or more, accumulating 90 accurate passes from 93 attempts. The term ‘Rolls Royce’ isn’t given out lightly when it comes to Gvardiol.

2. The best version of Haaland so far?

We often say that Erling Haaland can’t stop scoring, but he really just cannot stop. He’s scored in eight consecutive matches now and has 14 goals in seven matches. He’s breaking records almost every single game and is an absolute machine.

Fifty two goals in 50 Champions League matches – that’s more goals than Dinamo Zagreb, Anderlecht, Lille, Club Brugge, Besiktas, Celtic, Galatasaray, CSKA Moscow and Panathanikos managed in their first 50 games in the competition. He scores more goals than clubs.

To put into context how mind-boggling his Champions League goal tally actually is, he has almost double the number of goals former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez managed in the competition.

Haaland scores goals, we know this. But this year, his all-round play looks better than ever before, being able to use his strength to hold up play and feed the likes of Jeremy Doku and Phil Foden with ease. Robot.

3. Struggles on the road

Dier’s late penalty means that City are winless in their last five UEFA Champions League away games. Prior to Monaco, City had lost the last four Champions League away matches, with the last win coming against Slovakian side Slovan Bratislava early in the 2024-25 campaign.

Fifteen goals have been conceded in the last five, an average of three goals conceded per game. In fairness, it looked as though City would be taking all three points with them from the Principality until Nico was adjudged to have fouled Dier.

A 2-2 draw against one of Ligue 1’s best teams isn’t the end of the world and is actually a pretty solid result. However, it is a frustrating one after dominating for large parts of the game.

4. Differing opinions

Haaland had a different opinion on the match last night to Guardiola and Bernardo Silva, saying that the Blues ‘didn’t deserve to win’.

“We don’t feel good. We don’t win. We did something unnecessary in the second half, and we didn’t play good enough, so we don’t deserve to win,” said Haaland. “We need more energy, we needed to get at them more as we did in the first half when we dominated much more. In the second half, they took the lead much more and I don’t think it’s good enough.”

Guardiola on the other hand praised his side’s performance, saying that City were ‘really, really good’. “We made some decisions, we created a lot of chances. Unfortunately at the end, we defended an unfair free kick not perfectly and we conceded a penalty that (Gonzalez) touched the ball first, no intention. But it is what it is,” said Guardiola.

“The Manchester City team was really, really good. We have a good point, we take it. Think of the next ones.” Captain Silva leaned towards Guardiola’s opinion on the match, saying that ‘it was not a bad performance’.

“Overall, I think it was not a bad performance. Of course we need to be better at some things,” said Silva. “And in a moment where I felt the team was quite well, controlling the result, and the game, it’s when we conceded the second that it’s a bit frustrating to get out of here with just one point.”

Haaland was visibly disapointed with the team’s display, which is interesting considering Guardiola’s and Silva’s contrasting opinions.

5. A right-back is needed

After not signing a right-back in the transfer window this summer, City’s right side of defence is unnatural. The likes of Matheus Nunes, Rico Lewis, John Stones and Abdukodir Khusanov have all filled in the position since Kyle Walker’s departure on loan in January and subsequent permanent move to Burnley this summer.

Nunes has put in a shift at right-back but sometimes seems lost, largely as it isn’t his natural position. Lewis often looks weak on the ball and his midfield qualities are arguably wasted at right-back.

Stones is 31 years of age and has picked up a number of injuries in the last year or so, making him unreliable in the role. Last but not the least is Khusanov, who has looked the most comfortable in the position out of the four.

Currently unavailable due to an injury picked up in a 1-1 draw against Arsenal a few weeks ago, Khusanov’s pace and aggression really gives him the upper edge in the position.

However, he is a centre-back and it thus feels crucial that Manchester City’s newly-appointed director of football Hugo Viana secures the arrival of a natural right-back in the next transfer window.