City undone by Monaco and Atletico, but progress

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  • Post published:March 15, 2017

Manchester City were eliminated from the Champions League following their 3-1 defeat against Monaco, while Atletico Madrid beat Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 on aggregate to qualify.

Monaco got off to a lively start in the opening exchanges of the match, and took the lead as early as the eighth minute when Kylian Mbappe put the ball into the back of the net from close range to make it 1-0.

Seven minutes later, the Ligue 1 side thought they had doubled their lead when Mbappe fired the ball into the corner, but the striker was judged to have been offside.

However, Monaco then doubled their lead when Mendy got into plenty of space down the left before firing a low cross into the centre of the box for Fabinho, who displayed lovely composure to guide the ball into the net.

City failed to carve out any opportunities at goal, with the likes of Leroy Sane, Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling, David Silva, and Kevin De Bruyne all barely having an effect on proceedings 35 minutes into the match.

After the first 45 minutes of the match, Monaco headed into the half-time interval with a 2-0 lead over City, with the aggregate score level on 5-5.

Pep Guardiola’s side came out a livelier side in the second half as they looked more poised and confident in possession of the ball.

City had a chance to pull a goal back in the 61st minute when Sane fired a cross to the edge of the six-yard box to meet Aguero, but the Argentine could only succeed in sending his attempt over the bar.

Four minutes later and City nearly found the back of the net when Silva set up Aguero, who found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but he came out second best as the Monaco shot-stopper remained big to make the block.

City eventually pulled a goal back when Sterling picked up possession on the right, before cutting inside to get a shot away. Subasic can only parry the ball into the path of Sane, who smashed the ball into the roof of the net.

However, Monaco levelled matters six minutes later when Thomas Lemar whipped a free-kick into the penalty area for Bakayoko, who rose high to bullet a header into the bottom corner to make it 3-1.

Monaco held on to their 3-1 lead until the final whistle, to book their place in the next round following their 6-6 aggregate victory.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid booked their place in the next round of the competition, following their goalless draw at the Estadio Vicente Calderon, going through on a 4-2 aggregate victory.