Barcelona suffered their first competitive defeat under manager Hansi Flick as they were beaten by Monaco in the Champions League. The loss came after Barcelona’s Eric Garcia was sent off, leaving them with a numerical disadvantage. Despite this setback, Lamine Yamal managed to equalize for Barcelona after Maghnes Akliouche’s goal. However, Monaco ultimately secured the victory with a second-half goal from George Ilenikhena.
Barcelona had started the season on a positive note, winning all five of their La Liga fixtures and sitting at the top of the league table. However, their performance in the Champions League has been less impressive in recent years, and this defeat in the league phase only added to their struggles.
The turning point in the match came early on when Garcia was shown a red card for a foul on Takumi Minamino. This gave Monaco an advantage which they capitalized on with Akliouche’s goal. Despite being down to ten men, Barcelona fought back through Yamal’s goal.
Yamal’s finish made him the second youngest goalscorer in Champions League history at just 17 years and 68 days old. It provided Barcelona with hope as they looked to salvage something from the game.
However, defensive errors cost Barcelona dearly as Ilenikhena scored what turned out to be the winning goal for Monaco. Although there were some late changes made by Flick to try and equalize again, Barcelona couldn’t find another goal before full-time.
it was a disappointing result for Barcelona but there were positives to take from their fighting spirit despite being reduced to ten men early on. Flick will be looking for improvements as they continue their campaign in Europe’s elite club competition.
