MONACO...3 MAN CITY...1
6-6 ON AGGREGATE, MONACO WIN ON AWAY GOALS
MANCHESTER City crashed out of the Champions League on away goals last night to ruin Pep Guardiola’s 100th European game as manager.
The devastating blow to City’s season leaves Leicester as the English Premier League’s sole representatives in tomorrow’s quarter-final draw.
Leading 5-3 from the first leg, the visitors were torn apart in the first half as goals by Kylian Mbappe and Fabinho turned the tie in Monaco’s favour.
Leroy Sane struck after 71 minutes to edge Guardiola’s men back in control but Tiemoue Bakayoko scored six minutes later to dump them out.
It is the first time in Guardiola’s eight seasons as a manager that he has failed to reach the semi-finals but it didn’t spare him criticism from BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand, who said: ‘Pep got it tactically wrong. They were two goals up but they got put to the sword in first half.’
Unless Guardiola addresses the issues with his defence, his project is destined to fail.
They just had to hold out for 19 minutes last night. They didn’t even make it through six.
Letting in six goals over two games to Monaco is bad enough — and it is the three goals at the Etihad that killed them here, never forget — but to let in one having seemingly secured progress with an underwhelming performance shows the malaise at City.
Monaco looked dead on their feet for much of the second half. When they got a free-kick with 13 minutes left after a foul by Kevin de Bruyne, it was all they could do to get men in the box.
But that was all it needed. Thomas Lemar whipped in the dead ball and Bakayoko headed it past a helpless Willy Caballero.
There were blue shirts all around, but none with sufficient interest in getting the ball the hell out of there. It travelled over the head of Aleksandar Kolarov and his team-mates were innocent bystanders. City can’t go another season with this defence, or underplaying the importance of the unlovely side of the game.
Without wishing to pick at old wounds, this was like watching Arsenal. The best teams make grit a thing of beauty, too.
‘We played exceptional second half but we forgot to do that in the first,’ reflected Guardiola afterwards. ‘We wanted to defend aggressively. We were better in the second but it wasn’t enough.
‘Normally we play to a good level but here we didn’t. We will learn. The team does not have a lot of experience.
‘The second half we had the chances and we didn’t take them and that is why we are out. And set-pieces are so important at this level. Barcelona and Real Madrid scored from them last week. We were not there and we were not there in the first 45 minutes.
‘We will improve but this competition is so demanding. Sometimes we have to be special and be lucky. We were not.’
It’s a pity Guardiola’s European milestone was soured. City scored, which was his demand, but their exit will without doubt tarnish his first season in English football. Employing him doesn’t guarantee success on this stage, but it is thought to come with certain comforts. He doesn’t tend to get eliminated in the first knockout round by outsiders.
Monaco are leading the French league — but when did that position last produce European champions? It is a huge testament to them that they went through. They were outstanding in the first half to establish a 2-0 lead.
When City finally came to life, they laid siege to the Monaco goal. Sergio Aguero fired over from close range after 62 minutes, Danijel Subasic saved from the Argentine after 65 minutes, Sane shot into the side netting from a tight angle on 67 and Subasic kicked clear from Aguero, who had turned Jemerson after 69.
In the 71st minute, the breakthrough came. De Bruyne played an outstanding crossfield ball to Raheem Sterling, whose shot was tamely palmed out by Subasic. Sane was first to it and at that point City were through.
That it didn’t last should be part of the inquest. They can’t defend like this and deliver, in Europe or the Premier League.
Sir Alex Ferguson used to say the match started in the press conference the day before. That was when he would influence his players, the referee, the opposition. Sow seeds of doubt within his enemies, deliver messages, throw down challenges.
Guardiola’s take on this game was strange. He said City would need to score or they’d go out. As they led on aggregate by two goals, that was some admission. He was predicting his defence would concede two, at least.
Monaco are a fine attacking team but it can’t have been greatly inspiring for City’s players to know their manager fancied them more than his own defence.
They played from the start as if intimidated when they had no reason to be. They put five past this team last time out.
Fernandinho, deployed deep, almost in a central back three, was particularly troubled. He gave up the ball to Bakayoko for Monaco’s first chance of the game, the midfielder sliding the ball through to Mbappe, whose shot produced a fine save from Caballero.
The pressure was relentless. From the corner, the ball was cleared but only to Benjamin Mendy, whose shot was blocked and rebounded to Bernardo Silva. He whipped in a cross from the left and Mbappe turned it in.
Just before the half-hour, Monaco claimed the second goal that gave them a lead in the tie on away goals. Lemar played in Mendy on the left once more and his low cross found Kolarov stretching in vain to close down Fabinho, whose low shot from the heart of the penalty area left Caballero no chance.
It was the first time City had gone a half in the Champions League without a shot at goal. Guardiola scurried towards the tunnel as if eager to deliver instructions. He needed a revival every bit as great as City delivered at the Etihad.
Alas, it wasn’t forthcoming.