Monaco’s kids turn on the style
Sidebottom ready for a final hurrah EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ‘I was right to put my family first’ JOE MARLER OPENS UP
IT WILL come as no surprise that the majority of elite clubs both from the Premier League and across Europe sent requests for representatives to attend the Etihad last night.
Two of the more attack-minded sides left in the competition promised so much – and boy did they deliver.
But when the scouts catch their breath and hit the phones this morning to report back, many will have the names of the boys in red and white on their lips.
On the evidence of this performance, Monaco should brace themselves not only for another tumultuous night in three weeks time but a blizzard of interest in their youngsters.
In the 18-year-old Kylian Mbappe the French side, flying highest in Ligue 1, arguably had the most exciting talent on the pitch and that is saying something given the quality at Pep Guardiola’s disposal.
And he was backed up by several more with Bernardo Silva, a target for Chelsea, and Benjamin Mendy excelling last night.
In a fantastic first-half display Monaco at times shredded City’s back line and their front-foot attack should have come as no surprise.
Trips to England have held little fear for the French side with a track record littered with the bruised reputations of beaten Premier League teams.
Earlier this season they had beaten Spurs 2-1 at Wembley in the group stages, a result and scoreline they repeated without much trouble in the return leg in Monaco.
And further back Arsenal had been victims in the last-16 two years ago; in 2004 Chelsea were sunk in the semi-finals and Gideon Manchester United in the last eight in 1998.
If good measure were needed they also put Newcastle out of the UEFA Cup.
It will have been their most recent history that put City’s management on high alert with them leading Ligue 1 by three points ahead of Paris SaintGermain, the team who have a firm grip of Barcelona’s throat.
Guardiola had talked with genuine respect of their threat. And a root and branch reform of the club’s policy over big-money signings ahead of the Financial Fair Play regulations coming in two seasons ago has certainly left them full of promise.
Radamel Falcao, the last major signing under their previous largesse costing £52million in 2013, suffered when on loan at Chelsea and United but now he is back remains Monaco’s focus up front.
His diving header in the first half and audacious chip for a second sandwiched a missed penalty. It was a performance that silenced doubters who remember him as a flop from across this city.
But it was the youngsters who the elite clubs will try to prise away from the Principality with big offers in the summer.
City will rightly point to several moments in the game when luck deserted and they had plenty of their own heroes in a stunning fightback.
And Monaco will start receiving their requests for seats from the scouts with the promise of a similarly high-scoring affair in the return leg. The calls for their players will come later.