BARÇA LOST ITS FIRST GAME OF 24/25
Monaco ends the spectacular streak of Hansi Flick's Barça
Published:19/09/2024 - 23:28h
Updated:20/09/2024 - 02:41h
AS Monaco defeated FC Barcelona again in Hansi Flick's cycle. After the 'difficulty' of falling at the Gamper against Adi Hütter's men, the Gauls ruined the Barça debut in the Champions League with a victory (2-1) that put an end to the undefeated culé
FC Barcelona revived its ghosts in recent editions of the UEFA Champions League with a surprising defeat against Monaco (2-1). Hansi Flick's men fell for the first time in the season after a spectacular start in LaLiga, with 5 wins in a row that have generated enthusiasm in the culé fans. As in the last edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy, Adi Hüttler's men clearly won, this time by the minimum in a match conditioned by the early expulsion of Eric García.
For Barça, the night started in the worst way in the Principality. Eric, starting to cover the loss of Dani Olmo, saw a straight red card in the 10th minute after committing a forced foul due to a mistake on the start of Ter Stegen. The '24' had no choice but to knock down Minamino and, by cutting off a clear scoring chance, there was nothing to complain or review. Six minutes later, Monaco took the lead on the scoreboard thanks to a great goal scored by Maghnes Akliouche.
Although the culés reacted before half an hour of play through Lamine Yamal's first goal in the Champions League, Barça could not regain control of the game, with Marc Casadó surpassed in midfield and Pedri González much further back to score a hand in containment. In the second half, Barça had some chances to score, but it was the hosts who ended up taking advantage of the wear and tear resulting from their numerical superiority. George Ilenikhena made it 2-1 in the 71st minute, which would be final, consummating the first culé defeat of the season.
Barça leaves behind an undefeated record of five games and becomes complicated again in Europe
For Hansi Flick's side, the loss in France marks the end of a streak of five victories in which they scored 17 goals for and only conceded 4. The perfect start in LaLiga contrasts with a painful setback in the Champions League that, for the moment, leaves the Barça team in 23rd place in the league phase, still in play-off positions to advance to the round of 16.
The culé European calendar continues next Tuesday, October 1, in Montjuïc against Young Boys (9:00 p.m. CEST), a duel that Barça must win no matter what to climb positions in the table. The Swiss also started the Champions League with a defeat, losing at home to Aston Villa (0-3) in a match of absolute English dominance. Then, on the third day, it is time to host Bayern Munich, the first leader of the season thanks to their performance against Dinamo Zagreb (9-2).
