Any game that involves Monaco is expected to be a high-scorer, but nobody would have expected eight goals to rain in at the Etihad as Manchester City trumped the French side in a Champions League thriller.
Champions League results from Tuesday's matches
In a match that swung one way and then the other, three goals in the final 20 minutes from Manchester City meant they won the first leg of this round of 16 match 5-3 – the most number of goals scored in the first leg of a Champions League match in the knockout stages.
City got their goals from Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero, John Stones and Leroy Sane, while Monaco had Radamel Falcao and Kylian Mbappe to thank for finding the back of the net.
At the end of the match, Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City manager, seemed a little overwhelmed by all that had transpired, and while he will be glad to take a two-goal cushion into the second leg in Monaco, he will also know there is a lot still to be written on this tie.
"It was a special game," Guardiola said. "I cannot deny that. It had ups and downs. We attacked quite good, although our build up was quite slow, but it was not easy because Monaco are so organised. Of course, we have to improve.
"A lot of things happened. Everything is open. We played against incredible players, who were quick on the counter attack and in the midfield, and strong physically.
"Everybody has to be congratulated because if one team can score a thousand million goals, it's Monaco."
While Leonardo Jardim will be proud of his young team's performance, the manager will also be disappointed at the final result, especially considering Falcao, while scoring a couple of goals, also missed a penalty and City were allowed to score three goals in the space of 11 minutes.
"The first thing I'll say is that maybe this was one of the most incredible matches in the Champions League this season," Jardim said. "It's great for the fans as I'm sure they were happy to watch such quality attacks and eight goals.
"I think Monaco played really well and I've congratulated the players. We made small defensive mistakes and I think the turning point was missing the penalty to go 3-1 up.
"We've still got 90 minutes to play and it's far from over."
Watch the highlights of the match HERE
