Champions League: Monaco Draws with pafos After Late Own Goal
Pafos, Cyprus – November 26, 2025 – AS Monaco were held to a 2-2 draw against Pafos FC in Champions League qualifying action Tuesday evening, conceding a late own goal that denied them a crucial victory.Teh result leaves monaco in 22nd place in the Champions League standings.
The match saw a fluctuating momentum, beginning with David Luiz’s powerful header in the 18th minute that cracked the net and equalized after Takumi minamino had given Monaco an early lead in the 5th minute. Folarin Balogun then put Monaco ahead again in the 26th minute, capitalizing on a poor recovery from Pafos goalkeeper Michael. Despite controlling possession for stretches of the game, Monaco were repeatedly thwarted by Michael and later, Pafos goalkeeper Hradecky, who made several key saves.
Pafos equalized in the 88th minute when a corner kick resulted in a header from Sunjic bouncing off the bar and inadvertently headed in by Monaco’s Salisu for an own goal. Despite late attempts from Monaco, including promising runs by Akliouche in added time (90th+1, 90th+4), they were unable to find a winner. A potential penalty for a handball by Zakaria in the 90th+5 minute went uncalled,adding to Monaco’s frustration.
elsewhere in Group play, Copenhagen defeated Kairat Almaty 3-2, with goals from Dadason (26th), Larsson (penalty, 59th), and Robert (73rd) for Copenhagen, and Satpaev (81st) and Baybek (90th) for Almaty.
