Are Manchester City 'back'? Not even Pep Guardiola knows

MONACO -- The debate about whether Manchester City "are back" is going to be a theme of their season.

It's perhaps only natural after a team which has been so dominant for so long suffers an unexpected and spectacular dip.

Pep Guardiola and Bernardo Silva were both asked at their respective pre-match news conferences on Tuesday evening about the level of this City team. Neither player or manager seemed entirely sure of the answer. You can see why.

On Wednesday, they were good in parts against AS Monaco and vulnerable in others. They should have won, but they didn't. A late Eric Dier penalty -- awarded by VAR -- pegged back Guardiola's side, who had to settle for a 2-2 draw. It wasn't a bad result, but it wasn't good, either.

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The question about when the old City might be back is no closer to being answered.

"We played a really good game," said Guardiola. "We always try to create more chances and concede few and that's what happened.

"They have fast players with their physicality so strong, but we conceded few and we created a lot of chances, considering it is the Champions League and I'm really pleased for that.

"Of course, we were closer but, in the end, we could not defend a free kick well and we conceded the penalty."

For all the doubts about this version of Guardiola's City, one thing is certain: they have one of their most fearsome goal-scorers on the planet and that will always be enough to ensure you're pretty good.

Erling Haaland scored twice at Stade Louis II and the only complaint about the Norwegian striker's performance was that he had other chances to put the game to bed. Another night he might have had three or four.

The two he did get were pure striker's goals and there are few better in the world at the out-and-out No. 9 role. His first touch of the game ended up in the net. After 15 minutes, Josko Gvardiol clipped a pass over Monaco's defence and Haaland darted in between Monaco's three center backs to catch the ball on its way up and lifted his finish over Philipp Khn with the toe of his boot.

His second was even better.

There was no pace on the cross from Nico O'Reilly as it floated into the penalty area. Haaland, though, turned it into a chance. He lost his marker, jumped early, craned his neck to generate enough power in the header and found the corner of the net. It looked simple, but it wasn't. Haaland has made a habit of making exceptional things look normal.

"The athleticism was fantastic," said Guardiola.

For a long time under Guardiola, City were exceptional, too. But the feeling of invincibility was punctured last season and it's proving hard to get back.

Jordan Teze scored a stunning equaliser for the hosts in the first half, whipping the ball into the top corner out of almost nothing. Florian Balogun had a chance at the back post and Maghnes Akliouche forced a good low save from Gianluigi Donnarumma before Dier's spot-kick.

Appeals for the penalty -- awarded in the final minute -- were initially waved away. Nico Gonzlez appeared to win the ball in front of Dier, but his foot was high.

Talking in the build-up about City's last-16 defeat to Monaco in 2017, Guardiola said he remembered the impact of the "man in the black" -- a dig at the referee he clearly hasn't forgotten more than eight years later. Asked about the penalty decision here, Guardiola said he "had nothing to say about the Spanish referee."

Maybe he'll still be thinking about Jesus Gil Manzano in another eight years.

Instead, it should be City's record away from home in the Champions League keeping Guardiola up at night. The draw with Monaco means they haven't won any of their last five European trips. It's a year since they last won a Champions League game away from the Etihad Stadium, beating Slovan Bratislava 4-0 on the second matchday of last season's competition.

It won't get any easier this season with trips to Villarreal, Real Madrid and Bodo/Glimt to come before the end of the league phase.

"It's a question of winning games," said Guardiola. "Today we were close. We played really good, except for some moments with transitions. What we missed a little more is when they played a lot of long balls and we didn't win the balls in behind, so we were a little bit more open in behind.