Eric Garcia's early sending-off had a dramatic impact on the course of the match.
"Barcelona" suffered an unexpected defeat to "Monaco" in an away match of the first round of the main stage of the 2024/25 Champions League season. The match at the Louis II stadium in Monaco ended with a score of 2:1.
Already in the 11th minute of the match, the Catalans were left with one man down – Eric Garcia received a straight red card and was sent off.
The Monegasques took advantage of their numerical advantage in the 16th minute, when Magnes Akliouch opened the scoring.
Hansi Flick’s men equalized in the 28th minute through 17-year-old Lamine Yamal, who scored his debut goal in the Champions League.
However, in the second half, the home team managed to put the squeeze on the “blaugranas” and snatch victory. In the 71st minute, George Ileniken scored the decisive goal.
Monaco vs. Barcelona match review
In the second round of the Champions League, Adi Hutter's men will play away against Dinamo Zagreb on October 2. The day before, Barcelona will host Switzerland's Young Boys.
In the updated Champions League format, each team will play eight matches against different opponents in the main round (four at home and four away). All tournament participants received two opponents from four different baskets.
The eight best teams in the main stage of the Champions League will reach the 1/8 finals. The clubs that take 9th to 24th place in the overall standings will play paired play-off matches for a place in the 1/8 finals. The rest will finish their performance in European competitions.
