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Jardim: All to play for against City

Cape Town - Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim acknowledged that Tuesday night's 5-3 Champions League loss to Manchester City was a "great game of football" while insisting the tie is still very much in the balance.

The Ligue 1 side came from a goal down to take a 2-1 half-time lead with Rademel Falcao and Kylian Mbappe cancelling out Raheem Sterling's opener.

Falcao then missed a penalty before Sergio Aguero leveled the scores. The Colombian made up for his miss before three goals in quick succession from Aguero, John Stones and Leroy Sane.

And after the eight-goal thriller, a thoroughly bemused Jardim delighted at the quality of the play.

He said: "This was one of the most exciting Champions League matches this season. For fans, that's fine. I think everybody was happy to watch these two teams.

"There was a lot of quality in attack, eight goals. I think playing here in England, scoring three goals, and putting on a great show is also important. 

"I congratulate both teams. There are still 90 minutes to play at home. Nothing is done."

He added: "Normally we play at 100% speed. Today it was 150! There was no time to give instructions from the side. It was a great game of football."

Monaco striker Valere Germain added that no one would have guessed such a high scoreline, while defender Andrea Raggi knows they have a lot of work to do to get back into this tie.

Germain said: "After the first half we did not imagine that we would lose by two goals come full-time. It is half-time of this tie and we'll have to do the job at home now. 

"Many saw us as favourites before the game, but they are used to playing in the Champions League. City made the semi-finals last year. There are 90 minutes left to play."

Raggi concluded: "We had a good game, but we gave away chances and conceded. We will now try to win this game at home. The tie is open. We have nothing to lose. It's not impossible. We're a young team and conceding five hurts."

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