AS Monaco produced one of the most memorable results of their pre-season on Sunday, coming from two goals down to beat Liverpool 3-2 at Anfield, in front of club president Dmitry Rybolovlev, on the opening day of their training camp in England.
Head coach Filipe Luís opted for continuity, naming the same starting eleven that had beaten Getafe at Stade Louis-II, with summer signings Flávio Nazinho, Sadibou Sané, Mathys Detourbet and Matthis Abline all named in the lineup for the trip to Anfield.
The match burst into life from the very first minute, with Mika Biereth almost opening the scoring for Monaco with an early effort that narrowly missed the far post. Liverpool responded by dominating possession, forcing goalkeeper Lukáš Hradecký into several important saves, first denying a driven effort from Florian Wirtz just outside the box, then tipping a Cody Gakpo header over the bar.
The Reds eventually broke through in the 16th minute, as Alexander Isak finished off a slick four-man passing move to open the scoring. Monaco tried to respond, with Abline forcing a save from Alisson from a wide position, but Liverpool struck again just past the half-hour mark. After a string of near-misses from Koumas and Wirtz, the German playmaker forced the ball home from close range following a goalmouth scramble to make it 2-0 in the 29th minute.
Monaco found a way back into the match before the break. Aleksandr Golovin won and converted a penalty in first-half stoppage time, following a driving effort from Konstantinos Tsimikas moments earlier, cutting the deficit to 2-1 heading into half-time, despite Liverpool nearly extending their lead through a Virgil van Dijk header in added time.
The second half saw heavy rotation from both sides, but it was Monaco who found the equaliser, with Biereth converting from close range after good build-up play to make it 2-2 in the 56th minute. The Rouge et Blanc continued to grow into the contest, coming close to a third through Mamadou Coulibaly, set up by a strong cross from Nazinho, and later through Oumar Konaté, played in by Golovin.
Even with a heavily rotated side late on, Monaco kept pushing and continued to dominate proceedings. After further chances for Coulibaly and Konaté, substitute Paris Brunner delivered the decisive moment in the 88th minute, heading home a superb corner from fellow substitute Anis Soubeir to complete the comeback and hand Monaco a 3-2 win. It marked Brunner’s fifth goal of the pre-season.
The result rounds off a hugely positive start to Monaco’s training camp in England, with the Rouge et Blanc showing considerable resilience to overturn a two-goal deficit against a side that finished fifth in the Premier League last season, and reigning champions the year before.