AS Monaco vs Manchester City: Champions League 2-2 Draw – Three Key Takeaways.

Manchester City’s journey to France to take on AS Monaco at the Stade Louis II was never expected to be a one-sided fixture. However, given the tide of the match, the 2-2 draw manifests itself as a disappointing result for Pep Guardiola’s team.

City dominated 71% of the ball on the night, and Guardiola’s side looked to be set in a machinated groove for much of the game, with slick passing sequences and control of possession. Monaco’s occasional counterattacks, however, were often built upon City’s lapses of concentration defensively, with the concession of a controversial penalty in the 90th minute a testament to this concern. Here are three takeaways from City’s 2-2 draw with the French side.

01: Erling Haaland is in the Form of his Life

For the majority of any City game, Erling Haaland looks like an ordinary footballer. Against Monaco, Haaland touched the ball merely 17 times, completing only 10 passes. His style of play is centred around pinning the opposition centre backs to create space for City’s midfielders, which inherently implies that he is uninvolved in the game.

When called upon, however, Haaland is unstoppable. A fabulously taken first-half brace versus Monaco has now taken the Norwegian marksman to a remarkable 10 goal contributions in his last 6 games for City. With City’s defensive line advancing less when in possession and Guardiola increasingly inching towards a more transitional form of the game, Haaland has been unleashed in a role that amplifies his strengths as a pure poacher—an acrobatic, swift, bulldozing striker with an eye for goal and an appetite for spectacular finishes.

His outstretched toe poke over Monaco keeper Philipp Köhn was a case in point, putting City ahead on the night. A towering header followed, again giving City the advantage after Jordan Teze’s sensational finish had drawn Monaco level. Amidst City’s ups and downs, one thing is for certain: Erling Haaland is indomitable.

02: Pep’s Tactical Whirlwind in Midfield

Among all the things that Pep Guardiola is renowned for, two stand out: a penchant for tactical innovation and a predilection for playing through the midfield. Both of these were on palpable display against Monaco, with City adopting multifarious midfield combinations to stump Monaco’s structure in the second half.

For the majority of the match, Manchester City’s midfield setup did not deviate from the expected positioning, as seen from the image above.

However, there were variations. Foden was often observed in a second striker role playing off of Haaland, which placed him in a conducive position to work his magic in the pocket of space between Monaco’s lines.

Later in the second half, there was a sequence in which Pep instructed both fullbacks (Nico O’Reilly and John Stones) to invert into attacking midfield positions at the edge of the box while the starting midfielders engaged in closer combinations and passing triangles.

Stones was also sometimes observed inverting into defensive midfield to form a double pivot while allowing Reijnders to advance more on the right side of midfield:

Whilst there was no singular tactical setup deployed by Pep Guardiola in City’s midfield region throughout the game, the provision of freedom to his players to move into these positions and form these structures was a nightmare for the Monaco block, precipitating City’s domination for the majority of the game and the creation of inspired passing sequences in the second half as well.

03: Monaco’s Late Comeback - A Mentality Issue?

Whether or not Nico González’s outstretched aerial attempt to win the ball with his right foot in City’s box warranted a Monaco penalty is a matter of much debate, but the truth is that yet again, City failed to kill the game despite their hegemony over proceedings.

While Guardiola had palpably instructed them to sit back after taking the lead against Arsenal two weekends ago, there was a stark dichotomy against Monaco between City’s tempo when they were 2-1 up and their renewed urgency in stoppage time after Monaco had equalised.

This failure to capitalise on leads and propensity to succumb to late comebacks is a worrying sign for City fans, who will hope that this does not turn into a pattern as the season progresses. For now, the positive signs are a six game streak without defeat for Pep Guardiola’s side, an apparent return to fluency in possession, and the imminent return of players from injury.

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