AS Monaco endured a tough start to their Champions League campaign on the evening of Thursday, September 18, falling 4-1 to Club Brugge at the Jan Breydel Stadium despite a late debut goal from Ansu Fati.
The Principality side, competing in the group stage for the 11th time in their history, had hoped for a strong beginning but were overwhelmed by a sharp and clinical Brugge outfit.
Monaco squandered an early chance to take the lead when Maghnes Akliouche’s penalty was saved by Simon Mignolet in the 10th minute. From that point, the Belgian champions took control. Nicolò Tresoldi broke the deadlock just after the half-hour mark, before Raphael Onyedika doubled the advantage from a corner minutes later. Hans Vanaken’s strike into the top corner before half-time left Monaco trailing 3-0 at the break.
Manager Adi Hütter introduced Thilo Kehrer and Mamadou Coulibaly after the restart in an attempt to steady his side, but Brugge continued to dominate. Mamadou Diakhon added a fourth in the 75th minute, effectively sealing the contest.
There was some consolation for Monaco when summer signing Ansu Fati, on loan from Barcelona, marked his debut with a powerful finish in stoppage time. The goal was warmly received by the 600 travelling Monaco supporters, though it did little to soften the disappointment of a lopsided defeat.
Monaco now turn their attention to Ligue 1, where they host Metz on Sunday, September 28 at the Stade Louis-II, before resuming European duty in two weeks’ time against Manchester City.
