AS Monaco moved into the Champions League playoffs with a 4-0 win over Young Boys at Stade Louis II to seal a 7-1 aggregate victory.
Ivan Cavaleiro opened the scoring on 54 minutes with a fine finish following an entertaining, albeit goalless, first period in the Principality.
Goals from Layvin Kurzawa, Anthony Martial and second-half sub Stephen El Shaarawy then completed the rout as Leonardo Jardim's side advance into the playoff round.
6.48pmIt couldn't happen, could it? AS Monaco bring a 3-1 first-leg lead into the conclusion of tonight's third-round Champions League tie in the Principality. Furthermore, that first-leg win came away at Young Boys, meaning they've got three away goals under their belt. But this is Monaco; home of the world-famous Monte Carlo Casino and the Swiss outfit come to town hoping to reverse their fortunes and defy the odds in the process. Anymore casino-based puns we can squeeze in for no reason? Yes, but we'll hold'em for later.
6.51pmIndeed, Stade Louis II plays host as the Ligue 1 side - who eliminated Arsenal from the last-16 in the 2014-15 competition - look to move one qualifying round short of the playoffs. Potentially, they're three qualifying games away from the main table. Okay we'll stop the casino association scheme now.
6.53pmHow did Leonardo Jardim's side come to boast such a healthy first-leg lead? Link my arm as we stroll down memory lane together. Well, it was only last week.
6.56pmGoals from the impressive Layvin Kurzawa and Guido Carrillo helped them into a two-goal lead by 73 minutes, before Raphael Nuzzolo pulled one back moments later. But Mario Pasalic restored the two-goal cushion moments after that! There were goals in the 73rd, 74th and 75th minute. Hopefully we'll see similar entertainment tonight.
7.00pmTeam news? Anyone? Okay.
7.02pmMONACO XI: Subasic; Fabinho, Raggi, Carvalho, Kurzawa; Toulalan, Pasalic, Moutinho, Dirar; Cavaleiro, Martial
7.03pmMONACO SUBS: Nardi, Wallace, Bakayoko, Silva, Traoré, Carrillo, El Shaarawy
7.04pmYOUNG BOYS XI: Mvogo; Vilotic, Von Bergen, Lecjaks, Sutter; Bertone, Sulejmani, Gajic, Nuzzolo; Kubo, Afum
7.05pmYOUNG BOYS SUBS: Tabakovic, Gonzalez, Zakaria, Wuthrich, Rochat, Hadergjonaj, Wolfi
7.09pmRight, we'll start with the hosts and I can tell you that they're unchanged. Anthony Martial and Ivan Cavaleiro continue to spearhead the attack, with Mario Pasalic, Nabil Dirar, Joao Moutinho and Jeremy Toulalan back in midfield. Fabinho, Ricardo Carvalho, Layvin Kurzawa and Andrea Raggi line up in defence, ahead of Danijel Subasic between the sticks.
7.11pmIn contrast, the Swiss side name three changes. Loris Benito, Sekou Sanogo and Guillaume Hoarau drop out for Jan Lecjaks, Leonardo Bertone and Samuel Afum, who partners Yuya Kubo in attack tonight.
7.13pmInterestingly, there's no sign of Dimitar Berbatov for Monaco again amid speculation that he is poised to join Aston Villa. With his future looking uncertain, and Radamel Falcao already joining Chelsea on loan, there's big pressure on the likes of Anthony Martial and Stephen El Shaarawy this season.
7.17pmStade Louis II is quite magnificent it has to be said. Beside it lies a picturesque mountain, with a number of beautiful townhouses overlooking it, and on the other side a sea as blue as a box of John Player. I thought we were being quite poetic up until that point.
7.20pmAnywho, it's also named after quite a famous person: Louis Walsh? Nope. Louis from One Direction? Nope. Louis Vuitton? Nope. It's named after Prince Louis II of Monaco. Duh. He was son of Prince Albert I, who invented quite a famous piercing I believe.
7.23pmI feel we're digressing a litte. Back to the topic at hand and you get the impression that the winners of this tie will feel a little hesitant about celebrating too much given who they could face in the playoffs: Manchester United!
7.27pmYep, the Red Devils must endure a two-legged qualifier before booking their spot in the group stages and it could potentially be Monaco. Or Young Boys. We haven't written them off quite yet - though they do have a mammoth task ahead of them tonight.
7.30pmCan Leonardo Jardim's side beat United should they draw them? Why not! Earlier this year Monaco proved that they were no pushovers by beating Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates in the last 16, before losing 2-0 here three weeks later and progessing on away goals.
7.32pmMake no mistake about it: they're no mugs and the reluctance to face United may be mutual.
7.35pmPREDICTION! Right, let's have a prediction, shall we? Why not, and we're going for a 2-0 Monaco win on the night, which in turn would complete a 5-1 aggregate victory. Anthony Martial with both goals. That's how it's going to be, my friends - but don't rush off to the bookies.
7.39pmIf I remember my French class from 12 years ago, then this translates to: 'Don't change a winning team'.
On ne change pas une équipe qui gagne... #ASMYB pic.twitter.com/mIFeSFdB6p
— AS MONACO (@AS_Monaco) August 4, 20151 minKICKOFF: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we're off at Stade Louis II. We're two minutes early, which shows you how keen both sides are to get started! Not really, but let's pretend that is the reason.
4 minYoung Boys are playing a team desperate to score at least three goals this evening - and they need to! Naturally, they're far more adventurous than their French counterparts in these early stages.
6 minThe Swiss side have a promising free-kick opportunity now after Ivan Cavaleiro committed the foul. They'll whip this into the box...
7 minYep, it's floated into the area but Subasic was aware of the danger and came off his line to collect comfortably.
9 minWe very, very nearly saw the first opportunity of the game. Moutinho, the creative genius, threads a ball through for Martial and a one-on-one looks imminent, but Milan Vilotic comes out of nowhere to stop Martial from going through.
11 minCHANCE! Monaco well on top and it probably should be 1-0. They break forward at pace in a swift counter-attack, before Dirar, galloping up the wing, cuts back for Pasalic in the middle as he looks certain to tap home, but Sutter pulled off the block. Probably should've been a goal if we're honest, but good block by Sutter.
14 minI must say, there is definitely plenty of goals in this. It's such an open game. Monaco, who lead 3-1 in the tie, seem to employ an 'attack is the best form of defence' strategy. They're not defending their lead one bit. This has the makings of a cracker.
18 minIt's all gone a little quiet in recent minutes. Young Boys are almost in on goal there a moment ago but a poor first touch from Raphael Nuzzolo let him down. He scored last week.
20 min20 minutes and the aggregate score is still 3-1 in favour of Monaco. Don't expect that to finish like that because we'll see goals. That's a certainty.
24 minPlenty is expected of Anthony Martial given the departures of Berbatov and Falcao, and his movement looks promising tonight but we're yet to really see him get involved. He's been playing on the shoulders of these Young Boys defenders, and you feel it's only a matter of time before he's successful with those on-the-shoulder runs.
26 minBOOKING: Speak of the devil: Milan Vilotic goes into the book for fouling Martial, who embarked on a brilliant run before being stopped in his tracks.
27 minOVER THE BAR: From the resulting set-piece, free-kick specialist Joao Moutinho curls narrowly over the bar. It was always tricky given the angle.
29 minSHOT! This is Young Boys' first effort on goal I think, as Miralem Sulejmani looks certain to float a ball into the area, but he goes for goal instead, drilling wide of Subsasic's near post.
31 minSHOT! Layvin Kurzawa can hit them, as he proved last week, but this one is a little wild as his long-range effort goes comfortably over the crossbar. He's an excellent player. He'll be brilliant at both ends of the field again tonight I suspect.
34 minIt's still relatively end-to-end, but it's still also 0-0 on the night. Surely that'll end soon? I fancy at least one before the break because, well, neither side are defending.
35 minCHANCE! Just as I say that, Monaco spurn perhaps their best chance. Kurzawa does really well on the left, cutting back for Martial but his first touch let him down. However, the ball fell to Moutinho, who drilled a left-footed shot at goal but Yvon Mvogo was equal to it.
38 minBOOKING: Bertone goes into the book for a foul on Cavaleiro. That's two Young Boys players walking a bit of a tightrope now.
41 minFour minutes left until the break. Not much between them on the night but, as we know, Monaco still huge favourites to go through by virtue of their 3-1 aggregate lead. Young Boys need four goals in the next 50 minutes of play to win in regulation. Unlikely init? Who knows though.
8.30pmHALF TIME: Monaco 0-0 Young Boys (3-1 on aggregate)
8.33pmThat's all she wrote for now then, but fear not because there's goals in this. I said that in the fifth minute, and I'll be saying it in the 85th if it's still 0-0. Anywho, Monaco still well on top in the tie thanks too their 3-1 first-leg win. Young Boys need to score at least three in the second half. Ominous.
45 minRESTART! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we are back underway in the Principality. Goalless first half but there were plenty of chances at both ends. Will we see a goal in this half? Certainly. Let's see.
48 minBOOKING: Already a booking as Fabinho goes into the notebook for a foul on Nuzzolo. No complaints I shouldn't imagine.
51 minCHANCE! Big, big chance for Young Boys to score one of the three goals needed. Subasic could only punch away Sulejmani's speculative effort, before denying Kubo from a really difficult angle. Still, he might've done better and it'll have to go down as a good save.
54 minGOAL! Monaco 1-0 Young Boys (4-1 on aggregate)
55 minWe said there would definitely be goals in this half, and we've seen one already - and what a cracker it was! It's Ivan Cavaleiro, who cuts inside Scott Sutter before bending a brilliant effort beyond the reach Yvon Mvogo with his right foot from what was a tricky angle. It's his home debut following a £11m move from Benfica. Decent way to announce yourself to your new fans, eh?
59 minShould we write Young Boys' Champions League eulogy now? I think that's safe. However, their task doesn't change that much: regardless of Cavaleiro's goal, the visitors still need three so, you know, the complexion hasn't changed that much.
63 minGOAL! Monaco 2-0 Young Boys (5-1 on aggregate) (Layvin Kurzawa)
64 minPut a fork in it, folks. Kurzawa, who opened the scoring in Bern last week, scores the sixth goal of this tie to end it once and for all. It's a fantastic corner from Moutinho, and Kurzawa glances it home at the near post.
68 minCHANCE! Should be a third. Moutinho's brilliant flick releases Dirar down the right, with the full-back then clipping the ball over for Martial, whose overhead goes narrowly over the bar. Still, they can probably afford to pull off things like that when they're 5-1 up, eh?
71 minGOAL! Monaco 3-0 Young Boys (6-1 on aggregate) (Anthony Martial)
72 minMonaco turning on the style now as Andrea Raggi's brilliant low cross is tapped home at the near post by Martial, who didn't have the best of nights individually, but that goal will do him the world of good. Unfortunately for Young Boys, they needed at least one first-half goal to stand any hope of reversing the damage of their 3-1 first-leg defeat, but it never came.
74 minCLOSE! Cavaleiro has been excellent tonight and he nearly has his second. This is nearly better than his first, as he gallops toward goal before letting fly from range and watching his effort fly narrowly over the bar.
76 minSUB: That was Cavaleiro's last action of the clash as he's replaced by AC Milan loanee Stephen El Shaarawy.
78 minGOAL! Monaco 4-0 Young Boys (7-1 on aggregate) (El Shaarawy)
79 minWhat an introduction for El Shaarawy. He's only been on a matter of minutes and already has a goal under his belt, as his long-range effort clips off the boot of Steve von Bergen and loops over goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo. I told you there'd be goals, didn't I?
81 minSUB: Monaco make their final sub as Chelsea loanee Mario Pasalic makes way for Adama Traore - the £14m man from Lille. Another new boy.
84 minThey were well and truly outclassed here, Young Boys. They had a decent first half, and one or two brief moments of hope after the break, but as soon Cavaleiro scored that was that. They deflated quicker than my first girlfriend when I heard somebody coming up the stairs.
86 minSHOT! Dirar's shot is well struck but it's smothered by Mvono, who hasn't done much wrong tonight and he's still on the receiving end of a four-goal drubbing.
90 minTHREE MINUTES ADDED ON:
9.32pmFULL TIME: Monaco 4-0 Young Boys (7-1 on aggregate)
9.34pmAnd that's it. What a convincing win for Monaco, who could face Manchester United in the Champions League playoffs later this month! Goals from Cavaleiro, Kurzawa, Martial and El Shaarawy did the damage as Leonardo Jardim's side completed a 7-1 aggregate win. Emphatic.
9.35pmAnywho, that's all from us. Thanks for joining our live text commentary and we'll see you next time. There's more UCL qualifiers on tomorrow so do come back. Until then....
