Eric Dier’s last-gasp penalty salvaged a 2-2 draw for Monaco against Manchester City in the Champions League, cancelling out Erling Haaland’s first-half brace at Stade Louis-II.
Haaland, who continues his prolific form this season, struck twice in the opening 45 minutes to make it 17 goals in all competitions. The Norwegian forward opened the scoring after 15 minutes, coolly lobbing over goalkeeper Philipp Köhn from Josko Gvardiol’s pass. Though Monaco responded swiftly through Jordan Teze’s thunderous strike, Haaland restored City’s advantage on the stroke of half-time with a towering header from Nico O’Reilly’s cross.
City dominated possession and came close to adding a third when Phil Foden rattled the crossbar. Haaland nearly sealed his hat-trick too, forcing Köhn into a full-stretch save with a fierce drive. But their wastefulness proved costly.
In the dying moments, Dier was caught in the head by Nico Gonzalez inside the box, prompting a VAR review. After a lengthy delay, the former Tottenham defender held his nerve, slotting home to earn Monaco a valuable point.
The result extends City’s unbeaten run to six games, but Pep Guardiola’s side have now conceded late goals in back-to-back Champions League outings. They also remain winless in their last five away fixtures in the competition, a worrying trend for last season’s play-off casualties.
For Monaco, it was another resilient display at home against English opposition. The 2004 finalists have lost just once in eight such encounters, and Adi Hütter’s men celebrated as if the draw was a victory.
City face Brentford next in the Premier League, while Monaco prepare for a Ligue 1 clash against local rivals Nice.
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