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Monaco Surprise Everyone As They Show Champions League Mettle Against Arsenal
No one gave Monaco a chance against Arsenal, but the team from the principality went about tearing up the pre-game script.
beIN SPORTS
AS Monaco will host Arsenal in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League last 16 tie with a 3-1 thanks to a sensational performance at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday. Arsene Wenger’s men are now left needing a miracle if they want to progress to the quarterfinals for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
Les Monegasques stunned the Gunners with goals from Geoffrey Kondogbia, Dimitar Berbatov and Yannick Ferreira Carrasco, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s brilliant late effort to make it 2-1 swiftly rendered little more than a consolation strike by Monaco’s Belgium under-21 starlet.
It was no less than Leonardo Jardim’s men deserved, with the Portuguese tactician organising his side brilliantly to cope with a plethora of injuries and suspensions. The Ligue 1 outfit were motivated, disciplined and played with the freedom created by the fact that the principality outfit had already achieved what they had hoped for in this season’s edition of the competition.
The result made it a famous night in London for Monaco, who reached the Champions League final back in 2003-04. Albert II, Prince of Monaco, was there to celebrate his team’s sensational achievement, along with Russian president Dmitry Rybolovlev.
"It's an extraordinary evening,” beamed Prince Albert to journalists after the match. “I would never have thought that we would win this fixture 3-1. We played a very serious, accomplished and committed match, and we fully deserved the result.”
Here are five points that emerged from Monaco’s incredible 3-1 win away at Arsenal
Geoffrey Kondogbia Shone for Heroic Monaco
On a night when the entire Monaco team put in heroic performances all over the pitch, midfielder and opening goal scorer Kondogbia shone marginally brighter than his teammates. Despite his goal taking a significant deflection on its way in, the French international was sensational for Les Monegasques.
Kondogbia, brilliantly aided by regular right-back Fabinho playing out of position at the heart of the Monaco midfield, dominated Arsenal.
The 22-year-old demonstrated his impressive physicality and technical brilliance with a performance that left Gunners fans once again bemoaning their lack of a player exactly like the principality outfit’s No. 22.
As excellent as Kondogbia was, though, the likes of Aymen Abdennour, Wallace, Joao Moutinho and Berbatov must also receive the praise they deserve. They all played key roles in what was a stunning team effort.
For Monaco to score three goals in a game for only the third time in all competitions this season is a stunning achievement.
5 - @Geo_Kondogbia only lost possession of the ball five times in 90 minutes against Arsenal last night. Focused. pic.twitter.com/MWg7fYhWO7
Arsenal Face the Near Impossible in the Principality
Arsenal will now travel to Monaco’s Stade Louis II next month knowing that they must score three goals.
Only one team - Girondins de Bordeaux - have put three or more goals past Jardim’s men this season and that was early in the campaign when the principality outfit were still finding their feet under the Portuguese.
Apart from Willy Sagnol’s troops, only three other teams have even been able to notch two against Monaco - FC Lorient and Stade Malherbe Caen were the only sides able to achieve that feat in the principality.
With only two goals conceded by the French side so far this competition, Arsenal are facing the tallest of orders. Wenger’s return to the club he coached for seven years - winning one French title and one Coupe de France - already looks as if it might end on a sour note.
Capricious Dimitar Berbatov Picked his Moment Perfectly
When Berbatov is in the mood to perform, few players can be as captivating and breath-taking to watch on a football pitch. But when the languid Bulgarian makes it clear that he is not feeling up for it, he disappears and you can quite easily forget that he is even playing.
Wednesday night’s 76-minute display at The Emirates Stadium firmly fell into the former category and the 34-year-old scored Monaco’s important second goal, applying the finishing touch to a superbly crafted counter-attack.
Berbatov has a particular liking for facing Arsenal in London. The former Tottenham hotspur and Manchester United man has now scored four goals against the Gunners at the Emirates in the Premier League and Champions League combined.
How he would dearly love to add one more in the return leg to seal Monaco’s safe passage into the quarterfinals in style.
Naïve Arsenal Could Learn a Thing or Two From Monaco Defence
Despite conceding a stunning injury-time Oxlade-Chamberlain effort, Monaco have still conceded just two goals so far in this season’s Champions League. Arsenal, on the other hand, have shipped more than that in just this one game and have already allowed their opponents 11 times so far.
There was plenty of backslapping and self-congratulating following the last 16 draw that paired Wenger’s men with Monaco. However, the Gunners could learn a thing or two from Jardim’s men and their excellent organisation and defensive approach after being upstaged at home.
Arsenal were woeful at the back. Even if Kondogbia’s opening goal did take a big deflection off of Per Mertesacker on its way in, the other two goals saw the Premier League side picked off far too easily as Monaco exploited their cumbersome back line with their impressive pace.
If Wenger and his players really want to progress in Europe, these shortcomings must be dealt with.
Leonardo Jardim Tactical Masterclass Despite Absences
Prior to kick-off, Monaco were dealt a blow with the news that Ferreira Carrasco and Layvin Kurzawa would be unable to start the clash with Arsenal. On top of that, Jeremy Toulalan’s suspension and injuries to Ricardo Carvalho, Andrea Raggi, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Lacina Traore had already severely weakened Jardim’s options.
Fellow Portuguese Bernardo Silva was also only judged to be worthy of a place on the bench, so few were expecting the phenomenal result that followed at the Emirates Stadium.
Monaco blew Arsenal away thanks to Jardim’s intelligent game plan. The 40-year-old set his team up to frustrate their hosts, keeping things tight at the back - even though Wenger’s men did spurn plenty of created chances - before hitting them on the counter-attack.
Les Monegasques carried out their coach’s orders to the letter and duly served up a surprise result that even the most ardent of Monaco supporters would have been unable to predict.
Putting faith in the likes of Almamy Toure - an 18-year-old with just 56 minutes of Ligue 1 experience - at right-back, in order to move regular starter Fabinho forward into defensive midfield proved a masterstroke.
Coaxing such an impressive performance from a badly out of form Moutinho is no easy feat either.
Echoing fellow Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho’s famous touchline celebrations of the past, Jardim got his “Mourinho moment” when Ferreira Carrasco scored Monaco’s late third. He might not be seen as a genuine rival to the self-proclaimed “Special One” just yet, but more impressive results like this one could soon change that.