AS Monaco produced a spirited second-half fightback to beat Liverpool 3-2 at Anfield on Sunday, a late header from substitute Paris Brunner completing the turnaround after Filipe Luís’s side had trailed by two goals inside the opening half-hour of their pre-season friendly.
The comeback, watched by club president Dmitry Rybolovlev, capped Monaco’s fifth match of pre-season and their first on English soil, the squad having crossed the Channel a day earlier to begin a training camp in England. It also handed Liverpool’s new manager, Andoni Iraola, defeat in his first game in charge at Anfield.
A strong Monaco side named
Filipe Luís kept faith with the 11 that had started against Getafe at the Stade Louis-II, with summer signings Flávio Nazinho, Sadibou Sané, Mathys Detourbet and Matthis Abline all handed starts. Eric Dier captained the side, while Paul Pogba and Takumi Minamino did not feature in the squad.
Liverpool make the early running
Monaco threatened first, Mika Biereth going close inside the opening minute, but it was Liverpool who took control. Goalkeeper Lukáš Hradecký kept the visitors in the contest with a low save to deny Florian Wirtz in the seventh minute and a fingertip stop to turn a Cody Gakpo header over the bar moments later.
The pressure told on 16 minutes, when Alexander Isak turned and finished into the bottom corner after a slick exchange between Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai on the edge of the box. Liverpool doubled the lead on 29 minutes through Wirtz, who poked home from close range after a scramble in the six-yard area.
Golovin sparks the response
Monaco found a way back just before the interval. Aleksandr Golovin drove into the penalty area, skipped past Virgil van Dijk and was brought down, before picking himself up to beat Alisson from the spot on 44 minutes. The half-time whistle left Monaco trailing by a single goal.
Biereth levels after the break
Iraola made eleven changes at the interval, with Giorgi Mamardashvili replacing Alisson in goal and new signing Victor Munoz later introduced for his first Liverpool appearance. The reshuffle coincided with a shift in momentum. On 56 minutes, Biereth equalised, following up after Mamardashvili had saved his initial effort to bundle the ball home.
Monaco then pushed for a third and came close through Mamadou Coulibaly, whose strike was pushed away by Mamardashvili, and Oumar Konaté.
Brunner has the final word
The winner arrived two minutes from time. A corner was whipped in from the left and Brunner rose at the near post to head Monaco in front, completing the recovery from two goals down.
“We can take a lot of positives but also a lot of negatives from today,” said Iraola, who compared the display to his side’s earlier defeat to Leeds and pointed to a lack of fitness in the closing stages.
For Monaco, the result offered encouragement as Filipe Luís continues to shape his side ahead of the new Ligue 1 campaign, with the fitness of the summer arrivals and the depth of the squad both on show at one of European football’s most storied grounds.
Only one match now remains in Monaco’s pre-season, the sixth and final friendly away at newly promoted Premier League side Coventry City on 14th August. The competitive season then begins with a UEFA Conference League play-off against Ferencváros or Górnik Zabrze, before the Ligue 1 campaign opens with a trip to Le Havre on 23rd August.
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Photo source: AS Monaco