Radamel Falcao, Monaco Advance to UCL Semi-Finals After 3-1 Win vs. Dortmund

AS Monaco advanced to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 13 years on Wednesday after they beat Borussia Dortmund 3-1 in the second leg of their quarter-final clash to emerge 6-3 victors on aggregate.

Kylian Mbappe needed only three minutes to compound Dortmund's misfortune and break the deadlock before Radamel Falcao added a second soon after. Marco Reus gave Dortmund a lifeline early in the second period, but substitute Valere Germain sealed the Germans' defeat with his 81st-minute finisher.

Monaco were happy to settle for a much smaller portion of possession and operate on the counter on a night where Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel was forced to react after seemingly getting his tactics wrong.

Europe's premier competition has officially been whittled down to just four, and BT Sport showed which teams have fallen by the wayside in the process:

The French Riviera hosts began Wednesday's home leg on the front foot and capitalised through none other than their star of the season, Mbappe, who followed up a barnstorming run and shot from Benjamin Mendy.

Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki could have perhaps done better with Mendy's shot from range and paddled the ball directly into predator Mbappe—undoubtedly the worst recipient he could have hoped for—who finished in the bottom-left corner.

Squawka's Greg Johnson provided evidence to suggest Mbappe doesn't only lead an elite cast of young goalscorers; instead, he's rubbing shoulders with the Ballon d'Or winners of the world:

Mbappe has failed to score in only four of his last 10 games, and OptaJean posted yet more proof of the 18-year-old's prestige on both the domestic and European fronts:

Nuri Sahin came within centimetres of pulling the visiting side level when his free-kick thumped against Monaco 'keeper Daniel Subasic's post, and Dortmund would come to regret that miss even more soon after.

Falcao ensured that when he finished off a swift Monaco counter-attack that saw Thomas Lemar cut a pinpoint cross to the Colombian, and blogger Liam Canning applauded his rise back to form in France:

It was just before the half-hour mark that Dortmund boss Tuchel conceded he had got his tactics wrong and brought on Ousmane Dembele for full-back Erik Durm, although the Frenchman's impact was minimal.

Before the two teams went in with a 2-0 scoreline in the hosts' favour at the break, Sky Sports reporter Alex Chaffer took note of the fact it was only small moments preventing Dortmund from making their mark in the match:

Dembele proved just that by making up for some of his first-half disappointments early on after the restart, embarking upon a helter-skelter run down the right side of Monaco's half, where he exposed Mendy's frailties.

The winger spun his marker inside out, and Reus bore down on Subasic's six-yard box at just the right time to convert into the top-right corner with a cool finish, via BT Sport:

The Black and Yellows went about trying to build on their goal addition and force extra time, but manager Leonardo Jardim's men remained stoic in defence despite accounting for less than two-thirds of possession, per WhoScored.com.

In fact, the game almost instantly lost a good portion of its entertainment value when Monaco looked content to sit back on their two-goal aggregate lead, although Mbappe did miss a chance to make it three in the 76th minute.

Substitute Germain made no such mistake, however, and Mbappe's replacement striker showed a quality touch running on to Lemar's deflected cross inside from the left, nutmegging Burki in the process.

In this kind of form, Monaco are looking more than ready to take on just about any team the Champions League can throw at them, having already illustrated their scoring endeavours against a host of powerhouses, per Squawka:

Mbappe will take his plaudits as the man of the moment once again, bulldozing yet another elite opponent out of his way as the Monaco marvel continues to overcome any challenge professional football can throw at him.

Dortmund's quarter-final campaign was, of course, marred after three bombs detonated near the team bus near the first leg's kick-off, per BBC News, but Monaco nevertheless look like deserving owners of a semi-final spot.

Monaco's potential opponents in the last four include Juventus, who put the finishing touches on a 3-0 aggregate win over Barcelona by drawing 0-0 in Spain on Wednesday to book their place in the next round.

Defending champions Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are the other teams waiting in the semi-finals, meaning Monaco stand a one-in-two chance of taking on one of La Liga's heavyweights in their quest for continental glory.