It had been a subdued night in Monaco, with Manchester City sleepwalking to victory until Nico González kicked Eric Dier in the face in a failed attempt to defend a free-kick. Chaos ensued with a melee as City lost their cool and the chance of a perfect Champions League start, before Dier calmly slotted home a last-minute penalty.
City have only themselves to blame for not finishing off a stubborn Monaco off earlier. Erling Haaland proved there was such a thing as a sure bet as he increased his club tally to 11 goals in eight games, only to have his work undone by two incidents of poor defending.
First, Jordan Teze was allowed too much space on the edge of the box, as he curled the first equaliser into the top corner and the foul for the penalty was at best naive. For González to raise his leg so high when defending a set piece was ill-judged, even if he made contact with the ball, with opponents buzzing around. Dier’s nose took the force of the Spaniard’s shinpad but it was worth the pain as Monaco got a point.
The anger City showed when it was clear the incident was being reviewed would have been better used when the ball was in play. Gianluigi Donnarumma took the ball while the referee, Jesús Gil Manzano, jogged towards the pitchside monitor. The City goalkeeper was joined by Monaco players and Rúben Dias got in the middle of the matter before the backroom staff and teammates got involved. A Monaco coach was sent off, delaying the referee finally pointing to the spot. Dier was one of few to not relinquish their calm and did the rest.
