Pep Guardiola was left scratching his head over an abysmal first half performance from his Manchester City, as Monaco pulled off a brilliant Champions League heist on Wednesday.
City stunned by Monaco as Atletico progress
With a two-goal cushion to play with going into this last 16 second leg match in Monaco, all the odds were with Manchester City.
However, they were surprised by a wonderfully-exhilarating Monaco side in the first half, with City unable to find their rhythm or anything resembling an attack.
With that porous defence of theirs also coming to the fore, Monaco banged in two goals via Kylian Mbappe and Fabinho to go into halftime in control of the tie.
City, no doubt after an earful from Pep Guardiola, played much better in the second half, and while they were given brief hope by Leroy Sane's strike, Monaco ensured they would take their place in the last-eight of the Champions League courtesy Tiemoue Bakayoko's goal on 77 minutes.
"We are very happy to have qualified and over the two legs I think it's deserved," Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim said. "We played very well in the first half with a high defensive line.
"They adapted tactically in the second half and it became more difficult for us. We needed to keep pressing because if you allow City to have the ball then you are dead.
"We are very happy for our fans and for French football. On Tuesday, I was asked by a journalist if I was afraid of this match. Matches like this are meant to be enjoyed and I love these games when there's so much at stake."
City clearly did not get that memo and thanks to their first half showing, it is now just about domestic football for them for the rest of the season.
"We played exceptional in the second half, but the first one we forgot to be there," Guardiola said. "We are a team that wanted to defend aggressively without the ball. In the second half, it was much better but it wasn't enough.
"That is my only sad thing – the way we played in that first 45 minutes. You can play and the opponent can beat you, but we were not there. In the right moment, we should be there but we weren't."
Watch the highlights of the match HERE
