FC Barcelona were handed their first defeat of the season in their UEFA opening game against FC Monaco. The tightly contested encounter ended 2-1 in favor of the French side. The Spanish giants were reduced to ten men as early as the tenth minute of the game following a direct red card shown to Eric Garcia for a bad challenge.
The Catalans came fresh off a 4-1 victory against last season’s sensation Girona in the Spanish League. Hansi Flick’s side has had a. Perfect start to the 2024/25 La Liga season with five wins from five games. Monaco on the other hand had won three games and drew one in the French League One. Coming into the game, both sides have a soiled history in the competition and it was their first time playing in a League phase at the Champions League. They faced off two months ago in August's Joan Gamper Trophy match, where Monaco beat the Spanish giants 3-0. They replicated their victory on Thursday night to set off their Champions League campaign.
Barcelona were without new signing and sensational attacking midfielder- Dani Olmo who was confirmed to be injured within the week and would be out for a couple weeks. Gavi remains sidelined with Fermin Lopez, Andreas Christensen, Frankie De Jong, Marc Bernal, and Ronald Araujo (also on a red card offense from the last UCL game last season) due to injury. Monaco wasn’t missing any important players although Edan Diop and Radoslaw Majecki were sidelined due to injury.
The game started with an elevated crowd at the Louis II Stadium. The home side were dominant in the first ten minutes of the game, but a poor pass from Barcelona goalkeeper and Captain - Marc-Andre ter Stegen, would ruin the entire experience for the Catalans. Eric Garcia went after the ball but ended up committing a terrible last-man challenge which earned him a red card, leaving Barcelona to play over 80 minutes with 10 men and giving an early advantage to the home side. Five minutes later, Maghnes Akliouche put Monaco ahead with a brilliant cutback finish. Lamine Yamal netted his first European goal around the 30th minute to level the score and became the second youngest goal scorer in the history of the competition at 17 years and 68 days old. Monaco’s 34th minute goal was canceled for offside and they continued to force Ter Stegan to make impulsive saves.
Barcelona held onto a draw at halftime, but the second half was even more difficult for Hansi Flick’s men. They made impressive runs up front but were poor in executing the finish. Monaco’s consistent resolve paid off with 20 minutes left on the clock. Substitute George Ilenikhena scored the decisive goal to secure the victory for the French side. Andre ter Stegen made brilliant saves at the end to ensure Barcelona’s hope of recovery from the effects of goal difference remains alive.
Andy Fati made his comeback to the Barcelona squad in the game, replacing Alejandro Balde in the 88th minute to hustle for an equalizer. Barcelona’s No.10 has been sidelined due to fitness issues since the start of the season. He hasn't played in a Barcelona game since the 2022/23 season, featuring for English side Brighton on loan last season. Ferran Torres, Sergi Dominguez, Gerald Martin, and Pablo Torre were all introduced within the last ten minutes to salvage a draw for Barcelona. A questionable decision by their German boss, for a French team who were outnumbered and refreshed most of the game.
FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick was asked if his team's 2-1 loss to AS Monaco in the Champions League was their "worst game" of the season so far. His response in the post-match interview is as follows; "When you have five wins and you lose, you can say that it is the worst - yes. We didn't start badly. In some phases, we weren't good in the combinations, but I insist that I have seen positive things and now we have to focus on La Liga."
"There are seven games left and we will achieve our objectives. We will be stronger and there are still seven games to go. In the next games, we have to recover our energy. We have matches every three days, but we already know how it is."
Barcelona will capitalize on the loss as motivation to do better in their coming UCL games against Young Boys (H), Bayern Munich (H), Crvena Zvezda (A), Brest (H), Borussia Dortmund (A), Benfica (A) and Atlanta (H). The Catalans have five UEFA Champions League titles in history and last experienced victory in the tournament in 2015 when they had the best trio in Europe (Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar). Since then, they have exited in the Group stage twice (2022, 2023), the Round of 16 once (2021), Quarter Finals five times (2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2024) and Semi-finals once (2019). Head Coach Hansi Flick previously won the competition as head coach of Bayern Munich in their second treble year in 2020.
Barcelona’s injury worries haven’t been much of a pain point lately, but with the injuries going up, it would surely affect their games moving forward. Dani Olmo injured the hamstring to his right thigh and could be out for four to five weeks. He is expected to rejoin the team in late October, just in time for the El Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu against Real Madrid. The Spaniard scored in every game (three goals in three games) since his transfer to Barcelona and would surely leave a hole in Hansi Flick’s plans going forward. The return of Andy Fati is expected to spice things up in the attack but the midfield's most important players are falling short. With the Summer transfer window closed, the Catalans will wait until January to attempt signing Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka from Bayern Munich per transfer Fair play regulations which they still struggle with.
Anticipate Upcoming Barcelona Games
The Catalans would head back to Spain to prepare for a series of nail-biting games in Spain and Europe this coming weeks. Here is a full breakdown of Barcelona’s upcoming fixtures:
Barcelona vs Getafe (La Liga)
Wednesday, 25th September Kick-off: 20:00
Osasuna vs Barcelona (La Liga)
Saturday, 28th September Kick-off: 20:00
Barcelona vs BSC Young Boys Bern (UEFA Champions League)
Tuesday, 1st October Kick-off: 20:00
Alaves vs Barcelona (La Liga)
Sunday, 6th October Kick-off: 15:15
Barcelona vs Sevilla (La Liga)
Sunday, 20th October Kick-off: 20:00
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich (UEFA Champions League)
Wednesday, 23rd October Kick-off: 20:00
Real Madrid vs Barcelona (La Liga)
Sunday, 27th October Kick-off: 16:00
Where to Find Available Barcelona Tickets
Get fast-selling Barcelona tickets now to reserve a spot for yourself and your friends at the games you love. These fast-selling tickets are unavailable on the official club sites, but with Secondary marketplaces, you can find and explore price and seat options for a beautiful experience.
The Catalans have had an impressive start to the 2024/25 season in a bid to reclaim their dominance in Spain and at the European stage. A loss to Monaco is a minor setback caused by their circumstances at the game. Hansi Flick’s boys are sure to keep the momentum in the coming games. Their journey continues to impress fans worldwide.
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