Three Truths: Defending is dead under Pep, but is anybody complaining?

It is fair to say this was a funny old night in the Champions League. Manchester City and Monaco are lovely rolling forwards, but are desperately poor at the back. Neither side were convincing in trying to keep matters tight hence the reason eight goals found their way into the back of the respective nets. Over in Germany, Atletico lost two against Bayer Leverkusen but scored four.

Yet there is a huge difference between Atletico and City and Monaco. While all these teams can score goals, Atletico remain arguably the best in the tournament at deploying the right personnel to stop them.

The art of defending may not longer be loved, but Pep would do himself well to remind himself that he needs some cover ASAP. A two-goal advantage heading to Monaco with a 5-3 lead may sound like an insurance policy, but not when your team is so open. Yet it would be wrong to be too critical because nobody is really complaining when football gives you nights like these. The City fans have never really warmed to the Champions League, but that may have changed after these glorious goings on.

It’s fair to say that Pep Guardiola knows his football, but quite how he expected tonight to go is hard to fathom.

Monaco are an excellent attacking side, full of pace, width skill and gumption; or, put another way, there was never the remotest chance that Fernandinho was going to cope at left-back, that Yaya Toure was going to protect John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi, that John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi were going to cope on their own.

Guardiola ought to have recognised this and bought in the summer, but given that he didn’t, he needs to find a better way of protecting his goal - and whichever goalkeeper he’s forced to pick. Because, though City now look likely to get past Monaco, the chances they will eventually be out-slugged by a side that knows how to cover up.

Kevin Gameiro is unstoppable on his day. Atletico could have the missing link to take them all the way in the Champions League this season. The Frenchman, who scored a five-minute hat-trick against Sporting Gijon at the weekend, was on fire again. His pace in running behind the Leverkusen defence was too much for them to handle.

He showed his unselfish side by teeing up Antoine Griezmann to make it 2-0 and took his penalty well to cap off a devastating play. Diego Simeone’s side have another potent weapon to back up Griezmann.