Barça’s momentum in the league was of no use in avoiding defeat in their Champions League debut. Monaco’s blaugrana team was nothing like the Girona team. The Barcelona players went from exuberance to penury, unrecognisable at the Luis II Stadium, after being without Eric García, who was sent off after ten minutes, and missing Dani Olmo. A single change explained the Barcelona metamorphosis in their return to a competition that has tortured them since Berlin 2015. Barça were unable to play with 11 or 10 and Flick did not correct himself either. The coach was a mere spectator of Barça’s fall against a shirtless Monaco. Hütter’s team did not stop attacking until they declared victory after a great goal from Lamine Yamal.
2
Philipp Köhn, Mohammed Salisu, Wilfried Singo, Vanderson (Christian Mawissa, min. 87), Thilo Kehrer, Maghnes Akliouche, Takumi Minamino (Folarin Balogun, min. 69), Lamine Camara (Aleksandr Golovin, min. 45), Eliesse Ben Seghir (Caio Henrique, min. 69), Denis Zakaria and Breel Embolo (George Ilenikhena, min. 58)
1
Marc-André ter Stegen, Alejandro Balde (Ansu Fati, min. 87), Iñigo Martínez, Pau Cubarsí (Ferran Torres, min. 78), Jules Koundé, Marc Casadó, Lamine Yamal (Gerard Martín, min. 79), Raphinha, Eric García, Pedri (Pablo Torre, min. 82) and Robert Lewandowski (Sergi Domínguez, min. 79)
Goals
1-0 min. 15: Maghnes Akliouche. 1-1 min. 27: Lamine Yamal. 2-1 min. 70: George Ilenikhena
Referee Allard Lindhout
Yellow cards
Eliesse Ben Seghir (min. 28), Lamine Camara (min. 35), Inigo Martinez (min. 74), Alex Balde (min. 84), Marc Casado (min. 84), Christian Mawissa (min. 91), Folarin Balogun (min. 95)
Red cards
Eric Garcia (min. 9)
The absence of Dani Olmo, the team’s key player since his explosive debut in Vallecas, dismantled Barça. Flick chose a central midfielder like Eric García as a substitute and not the striker Ferran, the first-choice player until the club could sign the international midfielder from Terrassa. Barça had been more brilliant and fluid with Olmo than with Ferran. The choice of Eric, who formed in midfield with Casadó behind the freed Pedri, seemed more a show of respect for the opponent than a lack of consideration for the Foyos striker. There was no time to assess Eric’s role because he was sent off for hooking Minamino. Ter Stegen was as reckless in his pass as the centre-back was timid in passing the ball back to the irregular goalkeeper, which was a good thing for Monaco.
The Blaugrana were playing with too much caution, very insecure, as if they were still stunned by that surprising 0-3 they suffered at the Gamper. Monaco are a good team and also have a very interesting coach in the Austrian Hütter. They have a lot of physical quality, strong and fast players, and their solidity and balance are contrasted by the double pivot formed by Zakaria-Camara and by the numbers: they had only conceded one goal in their four league games and are two points behind PSG. The game was theirs alone and the attacks were coming one after another in the Barça area. Akliouche scored after a long run with his left foot that ended with a shot next to Ter Stegen’s left post and if the second goal was not scored later it was by very little because Barcelona neither defended nor attacked, lost in the cold Luis II stadium.
Flick’s team was unable to get into the game and was unable to read the ball, imprecise and repetitive in losing the ball, exposed in every acceleration by Monaco. The players were not joining together and the help did not work and there was no other chance than a poorly finished transition by Raphinha. Until Lamine Yamal appeared. The winger rescued his team in a moment of maximum difficulty with an excellent goal despite Hütter having arranged a particular mark with Vanderson. Lamine controlled a long pass from Pau Cubarsi, beat the central defender Salisu and extended his diagonal until he found the space to shoot with his precise left foot at the left post of Köhn. Lamine’s first goal in the Champions League was the only good news for a scattered and permeable team that did not stop conceding shots to Monaco: 10 against 2.
The game demanded Flick’s intervention at half-time to try to consolidate a team that was disorganised and overwhelmed by its numerical inferiority following Eric’s red card. The coach, however, did not touch anything while Hütter continued to load up his attack with players like Golovin. So Barça neither pressed nor had the ball but waited on their own pitch while Monaco risked so much that they left space for Raphinha and Lamine to run. There were hardly any options for the Barcelona players against a more ambitious opponent, superior in players and squad, determined to once again beat a Barcelona that has five wins in five games in the League. The Blaugranas ended up giving in due to their inferiority on the pitch, due to the many injuries and due to Flick’s paralysis. The coach did not intervene until Ilenikhena scored the 2-1 in a direct play poorly defended by Cubarsi.
The 3-1 did not come because the VAR corrected the referee in a penalty by Íñigo Martínez. The insecurity of Ter Stegen, who alternated saves of merit with suspenseful actions such as the expulsion of Eric, did not help to stabilize a team that recovered Ansu Fati, absent since August 27, 2023, when he replaced Lamine in Villarreal. There was no room for heroes on a night when Barça, too contemplative and lacking resources, suffered its first official defeat of the season, penalized in the competition that is most elusive to it, the Champions League.