Hot Streak: Manchester City must beware Monaco - Europe's most exciting team

As far as the best attacking sides in Europe are concerned, the likes of Real Madrid’s ‘BBC’ and Barcelona’s ‘MSN’ are generally considered the strongest. The two Spanish giants are indeed among the highest scoring teams in Europe this season but their tallies pale in comparison to that of Monaco.

Leonardo Jardim’s men leapfrogged surprise package Nice at the top of Ligue 1 this month and topped a difficult Champions League group to ensure their place in the knockout stage. Drawn against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the round of 16, many felt that the Premier League side had got a dream tie as they bid to better last season’s semi-final exit. Monaco, however, represent a very tricky opponent and one that is certainly not to be underestimated, which Tottenham would attest to.

The Ligue 1 side have had a very tough route to reach the last 16, having had to conquer strong opposition in the form of Fenerbahce and Villarreal to even qualify for the group stages. They then upset Spurs at Wembley, drew with Leverkusen and picked up four points against CSKA Moscow before completing the double against Mauricio Pocchetino’s men.

Still in the Coupe de France, having booked their place in the Coupe de la Ligue final against PSG, Monaco still have the chance to win four trophies this season, so what is the secret to their success?

Jardim has managed to change his own public perception drastically this season. Formerly thought of as a defensive coach, that has all changed this time around, owing much to a sensational crop of young talent with which to work. The manager deserves great credit for nurturing this group regardless, and at present he’s able to keep this talented young squad happy by making the most of the depth available to him.

Summer signing Kamil Glik is the only outfielder to have started 20 league games, with 16 players registering at least 500 minutes of action in France’s top-flight. The Poland international was one of three notable defensive acquisitions ahead of the season, which suggested Jardim was keen to work on that side of the team more than the attack having shipped 50 goals last season. While the likes of Benjamin Mendy and Djibril Sidibe have helped reduce the rate they are conceding to one goal per game, it’s their vast upturn in efficiency at the other end that makes Monaco one of the most exciting teams on the continent.

A tally of 64 goals in the league, just over 3 per game, is at least 13 more than any other team in Europe’s top 5 leagues and a full seven more than Monaco managed in the entirety of the 2015/16 campaign. While a rejuvenated Radamel Falcao has accounted for 12 of those strikes, it’s the spread across the entire team that has attributed to Monaco’s remarkable tally.

As many as 14 players have scored for the club in the league this season, five of whom have netted more than five times. To put that into perspective, Barcelona and Real Madrid both have just two players to have scored more than five league goals this season, while Manchester City have just one (Sergio Aguero).

Many will point to the fact that the standard of defending in Ligue 1 is considerably lower than in Spain or England. However, title holders and Champions League latter stage regulars PSG have, in an admittedly poor season by their standards, scored just 41 goals by comparison in a league that has seen considerably fewer per game (2.50) than any of the other major European leagues.

What Monaco's exceptional scoring rate points to more is a plethora of exciting attacking options at Jardim’s disposal, including some of the hottest young prospects on the continent.

Thomas Lemar and Bernardo Silva, who both scored in Monaco’s last trip to England against Spurs - the former also netting the winner in the reverse fixture two months later - tend to occupy the left and right flank respectively. While the Portuguese has been linked with a move to one of Europe’s elite for some time now, Lemar was recently capped for France and is the second highest rated player aged 21 or under in Europe (7.47), with an eye for a spectacular goal.

Elsewhere 20-year old Brazilian Boschilla is making a real impact at the club, with 6 league goals in just 368 minutes of action, while Guido Carrillo is proving a fantastic back up striker to Falcao. All three rank among the top 5 players in Europe’s top 5 leagues when it comes to minutes per goal of players to score more than five times, with the Colombian scoring at a sensational rate of one every 78 minutes after a dreadful two-year spell in England.

Then there is Kylian Mbappe, who, having only turned 18 last month, is already turning the heads of the biggest clubs in the world. It’s little surprise either, given that in 517 minutes of league action the teenager has already had a hand in 8 league goals - one every 65 minutes. With five assists to his name he is level with Silva at the top of the team’s creative stats, and it’s clear that Monaco’s vibrant young attack is capable of testing the toughest of defences - which Manchester City cannot boast.

It’s an attack that is able to perform with such ruthless efficiency - with the best conversion rate in Europe by a distance - thanks to an extremely solid defensive platform. Fabinho and Tiemoue Bakayoko shield the back four superbly and have subsequently earned a long list of admirers of their own. Both are believed to be high on Manchester United’s wish list and the latter in particular, who has been dubbed the ‘next Yaya Toure’, is the sort of physical presence in midfield that could really disrupt Pep Guardiola’s attacking talents next month.

Monaco proved twice against Tottenham in the group stages that they are no mugs at this level having taken Ligue 1 by storm this season. They will be the underdogs against Manchester City but hardly deserve that tag and could be a real dark horse at a time when Europe’s biggest names aren’t at their best.

At present at least, this young Monaco side is arguably the most entertaining around, and it's one certainly more talented than their Champions League finalists of 2004.