Thierry Henry’s Monaco Crash Out of Champions League

As Monaco were eliminated from the Champions League on Tuesday as Club Brugge kept their UCL hopes alive with a crushing 4-0 win over AS Monaco.

The heavy loss extended coach Thierry Henry’s winless start in the principality to five games.

Hans Vanaken put the visitors ahead after 12 minutes turning in a low cross  to put the visitors ahead, and he doubled their lead five minutes later by scoring from the spot after Antonio Barreca’s handball inside the area.

Brugge soon made it three after 24 minutes when Brazilian striker Wesley fired home an angled drive from just outside the box.

Bruges captain Rudd Vormer added a fourth with five minutes left.

“It was not our best match of the four we’ve played [in Group A],” Vanaken said. “But we’ve won 4-0 in Monaco, so we all have to be satisfied.

“We have said it before: it is important to convert your chances in the Champions League. And today I think we converted them all. Four chances, four goals, that’s the key.”

Monaco, whose last win stretches back to Aug. 11, were the stronger side in the first 10 minutes, but crumbled during that killer 13-minute period.

They improved in the second half, but Vormer’s fourth goal condemned them to their heaviest-ever home loss in Europe.

The defeat  will heap more pressure on Henry, the former Monaco and Arsenal striker who took his first coaching job less than a month ago and is still without a win.

The result leaves the French club rooted to the bottom of Group A with one point, three behind the Belgian champions, and eliminated from the Champions League.