AS Monaco traveled to Croatia to face Dinamo Zagreb, a team heavily beaten by Bayern Munich (9-2) on the first day of the Champions League. Adi Hütter’s men, for their part, hoped to extend their good momentum after a convincing victory against Barça (2-1) when they entered the competition.
Despite a clear domination of the Asemists in possession (63% against 37%), the first half mainly resembled a round of observation between the two teams. In fact, each only conceded three shots, including only one on target on each side.
Martin Baturina started hostilities for the Croatians with a fine strike from a free kick in the opening minutes, while Takumi Minamino was the first to try his luck for the Monegasques seven minutes later. In added time of the first period, Peter Cucic opened the scoring for the locals. Served by Baturina after a quick counterattack, he won his duel against Philipp Köhn (1-0, 45+3′).
Monaco saves the furniture
The second half smiled more on the Croats. Barely eight minutes after the restart, Bruno Petkovic narrowly missed adding to the lead, before the tireless Baturina doubled the lead (66th). After eliminating two Monegasques, the Croatian attacking midfielder unleashed an unstoppable shot which ended up in Köhn’s left net.
However, the Zagrebians’ lead did not last long. Eight minutes later, Mohammed Salisu reduced the gap with a powerful header, giving the Monegasques hope. Minamino almost equalized in the 88th minute with a cross, but it was ultimately on a penalty obtained by Folarin Balogun, following a foul by Maxime Bernauer, that Denis Zakaria allowed Monaco to snatch a draw. Final score: 2-2.
