sports desk //
Barcelona came into the Champions League with the confidence of winning five matches in a row in La Liga. But the fact that the reality of the stage of Europe’s best is different was proved in the first match itself. Barca lost 2–1 to Monaco.
In this match, however, Eric Garcia’s red card shook Barca’s confidence at the beginning. Then they also ate the goal. Lamine Yamal later paid off by setting a record. However, the end was not saved. Monaco won with a goal scored in the second half. At the beginning of the Champions League, Barca was a bit under pressure.
Barcelona focused on attacking, keeping possession of the ball from the start in Monaco. At that time, the main goal of the Catalan club was to control the midfield. However, Barca suffered a big blow in the 10th minute of the match. Barca defender Eric Garcia was sent off after a straight red card for dangerously fouling Monaco’s Takumi Minamino outside the box. Received 10-man Barça in a moment, reversed the gift of the dice, Monaco put Barca under pressure with one attack after another.
The French club took the lead in the 16th minute of the match. Magnes Aklioche scored for Monaco from a great attack. Monaco got more excited after getting the goal in the beginning. They put 5 shots on 3 goals in the first 25 minutes. On the other hand, a lackluster Barca could not get any shots off target.
In such a situation, Barca needed some special magic to get back into the match. Against the trend of the game, Yamal returned the thrill of the match with that magic. In the 28th minute, this Spanish winger made Barca equal with a great shot from outside the box. It was Yamal’s first goal in the Champions League. Which also gave him the title of the second youngest goalscorer in the Champions League. Yamal did 17 years and 68 days. Ex-Barca forward Ansu Fati was top scorer at 17 years and 40 days.
Barca tried to take the reins of the match back to parity. After a while, they were deprived of goals. However, Monaco could have gone ahead again if Ter Stegen did not stand up in the 32nd minute. Basically, they were trying to exploit the pressure of playing with one less. Monaco scored in the 35th minute. But due to offside Barca survived that journey. Monaco then went close a few more times before the break. But they could not use the opportunity of 10 people.
Even after the break, Monaco tried to hold down 10-man Barca. They attack several times in a row. But could not get the goal. At this time, keeping their defense strong, Barca focused more on counter-attacking. The effect of being one player short was quite evident in Barca’s game. However, they still produced some great attacks, although they were not enough to score.
Barca went close a few times and missed chances, but Jorge Lenikena made no mistake in the 71st minute. Lenikena scored a great goal after receiving the ball from a teammate in a great attack. However, Monaco also received a penalty. But they survived the journey because of VAR. After that in the end, if there are no more goals, Monaco will leave the field with the victory.
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