Every once in awhile, you get a team in the UEFA Champions League completely outperform expectations. Ajax were that team last season, arguably Atalanta this year, but in the season of 2016/17, it was a French team, AS Monaco. With Leonardo Jardim at the helm and their attack spearheaded by Kylian Mbappé, they got all the way to the semi-finals.
2016/17 also happened to be Pep Guardiola’s first season at Manchester City. Arriving to great expectations after dominant spells at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, he eventually had his only trophy-less season in management. Part of that was down to the qualities of this Monaco side. A chaotic two-legged Round of 16 tie dumped City out on away goals after drawing 6-6 on aggregate. This piece will look specifically at the 5-3 home leg victory for the Citizens.
In this tactical analysis I will look at the tactics of Manchester City versus Monaco. This piece will use analysis to see why City got the better of the French side in the home leg.
Line-ups
The development of Guardiola’s City side was still in its infancy at this stage, and this was demonstrated by the personnel picked. Yaya Toure was chosen as the pivot while the regular Fernandinho played in an unusual role of left-back. Bacary Sagna was also still prevalent, playing right-back in this game. The forwards were the same we’ve come to expect from this Guardiola team.
Jardim included all his renowned superstars in this starting 11. Two future Man City players participated: Bernardo Silva at right-wing as well as Benjamin Mendy as an adventurous left-back. Mbappé had veteran striker Radamel Falcao alongside him providing experience to his rawness. Also included was Fabinho, in his role as midfield protector.
