A brace by Kylian Mbappe helped Monaco secure a 3-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the first-leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Dortmund got off to a bright start and had their first chance of the match in the 11th minute when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang latched on to a low pass from Lukasz Piszczek, before firing his effort over the crossbar.
Monaco were then awarded a penalty in the 17th minute when Kylian Mbappe was brought down in the area by Sokratis Papastathopoulos. Fabinho stepped up to take the spot-kick, but scuffed his effort wide of the target.
The Ligue 1 outfit eventually took the lead two minutes later when Thomas Lemar swung a cross over to the far post, which deflected off Mbappe and into the bottom corner.
The Bundesliga side nearly equalised at the half-hour mark when Shinji Kagawa played a one-two pass with Matthias Ginter. However, the Japanese midfielder somehow scuffed his resultant close-range shot wide of the goal.
Monaco then doubled their lead five minutes later when Andrea Raggi swung a curling cross into the box which Dortmund midfielder, Sven Bender headed the into his own net.
Ousmane Dembele had a chance to pull a goal back in the 43rd minute, but his side-footed cross towards Aubameyang was easily punched away by Monaco goalkeeper Danijel Subasic.
Dortmund came out a better side in the second half and pulled a goal back in the 57th minute when Aubameyang set up Kagawa with a back-heel, before he poked the ball under Subasic and towards Dembele, who calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net from close range.
Dortmund had another chance to level matters in the 72nd minute when Dembele ran into the Monaco box before firing his effort at goal. However, his shot deflected wide of the far post.
Monaco extended their lead six minutes later when Mbappe skipped past Sokratis, making his way down the field before firing his strike into the top right-hand corner of the net to make it 3-1.
The Bundesliga side then pulled a goal back in the 84th minute when Kagawa latched on to a low cross from Nuri Sahin, before turning his marker and calmly placing the ball into the back of the net.
Dortmund almost responded immediately, when Dembele sent a cross into the box and almost picked out Aubameyang. Onrushing Monaco defender Kamil Glik did well to clear the ball at the vital moment.
The Ligue 1 side held on to their 3-2 lead over Dortmund until the final whistle as they head into their all-important second leg at Stade Louis II, which will take place on April 19th.
Image: Champions League website
