Champions League semi-finals

The most prestigious competition in club football Champions League has reached the semi-final stage. Four big European clubs remain in the race for the trophy, among them is one club who has surprised a lot of football fans this season. Climbing their way up to the French Ligue-1 just a few years back from now, AS Monaco FC has shown great talent and willpower by reaching the semi-finals this season, already eliminating two big clubs from the competition in the playoffs so far. Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund were no matches for the Monegasques who scored a combined amount of six goals in the first and second legs against both teams. Scoring as many goals as Barcelona this season, Europe`s top scorers Monaco has shown us some very entertaining football throughout the season, and they should be considered as a serious contender for the Champions League title.

Monaco thump City in an epic comeback

The Champions league round of 16 was held in Nyon the 12th December last year. Finishing second in group C, Manchester City was to face one of the group winners. Pep Guardiola was surely very happy about the draw result. The Citizens would face the French club AS Monaco FC avoiding bigger clubs such as Barcelona and Juventus. With his experience of the European competitions, the expectations from Pep leading Manchester City to the Champions league glory this season were quite high. 

Monaco, on the other hand, had lots of ups and downs in the last 15 years from their last appearance in Champions league finals in the 2003-04 season. They got relegated to Ligue 2 six years later. The club's fortune changed when Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev bought the majority of the club in 2011. Just two years later, Monaco earned their promotion back to Ligue 1 with Claudio Ranieri as their new manager. In 2013, Monaco spent roughly £140 million on the transfer market to strengthen their squad (including the transfer of Radamel Falcao from Atletico). However, there were not many high expectations from the team due to their inconsistency and considering the amount of money pumped into Manchester City squad after they were bought by Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008.