Monaco turn to Falcao to knock City out

MONACO owe most of their recent success to their young guns, but when they face Manchester City looking to overturn a two-goal deficit in their Champions League last-16 tie tomorrow morning, they will turn to a more experienced player in Radamel Falcao.

The Colombia striker, who endured two dismal injury-plagued seasons in the Premier League, has been near his best since he returned this season from a season-long loan at Chelsea.

“This season, I’ve been playing consistently. The club has full confidence in me, the staff and my teammates make me feel important,” said Falcao, who scored two but missed a potentially decisive penalty in Monaco’s 5-3 defeat in the first leg in Manchester.

“With confidence, the rest comes naturally. I don’t think players forget how to play football. I just needed playing time and continuity. You don’t forget how to score goals,” Falcao added.

Monaco, who geared up for the game with a 2-1 victory over Girondins de Bordeaux on Saturday, will need to show more focus if they are to go through.

“We’re at a crucial stage in the season. In the Champions League, one mistake in a game can be fatal,” said Falcao, who has scored16 goals in Ligue 1 this season and six in the Champions League.

“We need to raise our level of concentration to make up for our lack of experience in this competition.”

Falcao, who has recovered from a hip injury, is expected to start in a 4-4-2 formation alongside prodigy Kylian Mbappe with Bernardo Silva, another young gem in the squad, expected to provide them with scoring opportunities.

Monaco’s only concern is the absence of centre back Kamil Glick, who will be replaced by Jemerson.

City, who warmed up with a 2-0 FA Cup win at Middlesbrough, have vowed to take the same offensive approach at Louis II.

“We’re not going to change,“said fullback Pablo Zabaleta.

“This is the way we’ve been playing until now and I think it would be a big mistake if we went to Monaco to defend.

However, defensive improvement is needed. “We have to attack in the same way that we did here at the Etihad and if we do we’ll create chances and score goals,” goalkeeper Willy Caballero said.

“But the most important thing is to defend better than we did in the first leg.”

Midfielder Yaya Toure sees no reason for Manchester City to change the attacking style of play that has been rewarded by an 11-game unbeaten run as the side reaches a crunch part of the season both domestically and in Europe.

“When you’re a winner and when you want to achieve important things you have to work hard,” the 33-year-old Ivorian told British media. “Sometimes it’s difficult but you have to be positive because we know people are waiting for us to fail.”

“We are playing very well at the moment and we have a team that plays mostly attractive games and sometimes the pundits are waiting to analyse,” Toure added of the Monaco clash.

“We are going to attack, we never do it the other way, we will attack and they will expect that as well. The best defence is try to score.”

After the European tie, City host fourth-placed Liverpool in a vital Premier League encounter on Sunday. – Reuters