Barcelona suffered a harsh start to their 2024-25 UEFA Champions League campaign with a 2-1 defeat against AS Monaco.
The match began poorly for the Catalan club, as defender Eric Garcia received a red card just 11 minutes into the game for a foul on Monaco’s Takumi Minamino who was through on goal after a misplaced pass from goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
This early dismissal forced Barcelona to play with 10 men for the remainder of the match.
Monaco capitalized five minutes later when Maghnes Akliouche scored to put the hosts ahead.
Despite being down to ten men, Barcelona equalized in the 28th minute through young star Lamine Yamal, who became the second-youngest scorer in Champions League history at 17 years and 68 days.
However, Monaco regained control in the 71st minute when substitute George Ilenikhena netted the decisive goal to give his team a winning start in their first Champions League group stage appearance in five years.
Barcelona’s manager, Hansi Flick, acknowledged the impact of the early red card, highlighting the team’s effort despite their numerical disadvantage.
He emphasized the need to recover and focus on their upcoming La Liga match against Villarreal.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
