Monaco survives scare to reach last 16 of French Cup

Monaco moved closer to the 100goal mark this season and reached the last 16 of the French Cup after scrambling a 5-4 victory with only 10 men against nonleague Chambly yesterday.

The French league leader squandered a 3-0 lead as Chambly — pushing for promotion to the second division and playing at home — made 3-3 in injury time, just after a red card for Monaco’s Italian defender Andrea Raggi.

In extra time, midfielder Kevin N’Doram and Poland center half Kamil Glik seemed to have put the game out of reach, only for Chambly midfielder Romain Padovani to make it 5-4 and set up a tense finish with 10 minutes to go in extra time.

Padovani started his career with Monaco 10 years ago, but never made it past the reserves.

Monaco has now scored 97 goals in 37 games this season and has managed at least four goals on 11 occasions.

The club is competing on four fronts, as it faces PSG in the League Cup final and Manchester City in the knockout round of the Champions League.

Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim rested many regulars with Saturday’s league game against second-place Nice in mind.

Star striker Radamel Falcao was among those left out, meaning Argentine striker Guido Carrillo got a rare start and he put Monaco ahead in the 17th minute.

Midfielder Thomas Lemar — one of the regulars selected — made it 2-0 in the 35th.

Rising star Kylian M’Bappe, the tournament’s star player when France won the European under19 tournament last year, made it 3-0 shortly after the break.

The 18-year-old M’Bappe usually plays on the wing but looked sharp at center forward and has seven goals this season.