FC Barcelona could not maintain the high level shown at the beginning of LaLiga and fell in its debut in the UEFA Champions League against Monaco (2-1). Matchday 1 of the new league phase of the top European club tournament closed with the fall of Hansi Flick's team in the Principality, a defeat that put an end to the Catalans' streak of five straight victories this season.
The early expulsion of Eric García conditioned a match that Adi Hüttler's men dominated from start to finish. In the end, the goals from Maghnes Akliouche and George Ilenikhena left behind the temporary tie converted by Lamine Yamal in the 28th minute. With the defeat, Barça is in 23rd place in the standings, still in the playoff zone to play the ' play off' in February.
On Thursday, the day began with Bayer Leverkusen's victory over Feyenoord (0-4) and Benfica's victory in Belgrade against Red Star (1-2). Two teams that did manage to take advantage of the home field, like Monaco, were Stade Brest and Atlético de Madrid. Both beat Sturm Graz and RB Leipzig, respectively (2-1), in the case of the 'colchoneros' overcoming an initial 0-1 deficit. In the other match of the day, Atalanta and Arsenal drew goalless in Italy (0-0).
Celtic and Borussia Dortmund started with victories on Wednesday
On Wednesday, the date began with a tense goalless draw between Bologna and Shakhtar (0-0) in the debut of the 'red and blue' in the tournament. At the same time, Sparta Prague beat Salzburg at home (3-0). The other two teams that won with authority on the second day of competition were Cetic Glasgow and Borussia Dormund. The Scots crushed the weak Slovan Bratislava at home (5-1), while the current runners-up thrashed Bruges in Belgium (0-3). In a day with few goals, City and Inter reissued the 2023 final in England with a draw (0-0), while Paris Saint-Germain narrowly beat Girona at the Parc des Princes (1-0) .
Bayern and Liverpool caused fear on the first day of the Champions League
On Tuesday, the league phase started with a day full of goals with the victory of Juventus, in Turin, against PSV Eindhhoven (3-1) and the victory of Aston Villa in Switzerland against Barça's next rival, Young Boys (0-3). Later, Bayern Munich and Liverpool made a splash with victories against Dinamo Zagreb (9-2) and AC Milan (1-3). Real Madrid and Sporting CP also added 3 points on the day after defeating Stuttgart (3-1) and Lille (2-0) at home.
Match | Day | Result |
Juventus-PSV Eindhoven | Tuesday | 3-1 |
Young Boys-Aston Villa | Tuesday | 0-3 |
Real Madrid-Stuttgart | Tuesday | 3-1 |
Sporting CP-LOSC Lille | Tuesday | 2-0 |
AC Milan-Liverpool | Tuesday | 1-3 |
Bayern Munich-Dinamo Zagreb | Tuesday | 9-2 |
Bolonia-Shakthar | Wednesday | 0-0 |
Sparta Prague-Salzburgo | Wednesday | 3-0 |
PSG-Girona | Wednesday | 1-0 |
Witches-Dortmund | Wednesday | 0-3 |
Celtic-Slovan Bratislava | Wednesday | 5-1 |
Manchester City-Inter of Milan | Wednesday | 0-0 |
Feyenoord-Bayer Leverkusen | Thursday | 0-4 |
Crash Red-Benfica | Thursday | 1-2 |
Stade Brest-Sturm Graz | Thursday | 2-1 |
Athletic of Madrid-RB Leipzig | Thursday | 2-1 |
ACE Monaco-FC Barcelona | Thursday | 2-1 |
Atalanta-Arsenal | Thursday | 0-0 |