Late Dier penalty denies City in Monaco after Haaland's double

It was all Manchester City’s fault that they did not leave Monaco without all three points. A piece of late mindlessness from Nico González gifted Eric Dier the chance to level and earned a hard-earn draw for the hosts.

- Will Unwin

It should have been so much easier for City after Erling Haaland proved their such a thing as a sure bet in Monte Carlo, as his double looked to have secured victory on a subdued night in the principality. Instead Jordan Teze was afforded too much space for the first equaliser and Dier could not turn down the opportunity. There is plenty of time to make up for the dropped points but it was a frustrating match for City who dominated from start to finish but never gave themselves a sufficient cushion that would see themselves over the line.

With Monaco struggling for form and missing a number of key players, the expectation was that City would plunder goals. Amid the dreary atmosphere of the Stade Louis II, the opening quarter of an hour was even, the visitors controlled the possession but Monaco offered a degree of threat on the break.

City, however, are packed with quality players who have the ability to change things in a split second. On this occasion it was Josko Gvardiol’s turn to provide the dynamism, clipping a ball over the Monaco centre-backs for Haaland to reach, stretching his legs to flick over the onrushing Philipp Köhn with his first touch of the match.