AS Monaco beat Barcelona in their opening match of the Champions League campaign, with goals from Maghnes Akliouche (16′) and substitute George Ilenikhena (71′), either side of a strike by Lamine Yamal (28′), giving the Ligue 1 side victory over the Catalan giants.
The task the home side faced in this match was made notably easier by Barcelona defender Eric Garcia earning a straight red card less than 10 minutes in.
Monaco’s triumph was certainly deserved, but the general feeling is that Barcelona were the team which influenced the outcome more.
The teams
Both teams were arranged in a 4-2-3-1 shape. Monaco boss Adi Hutter had Philipp Kohn in goal, with Thilo Kehrer and Mohammed Salisu forming the centre-back partnership, while Wilfried Singo and Vanderson covered the defensive flanks. Denis Zakaria and Lamine Camara paired up in the middle of the park, while the trio of Akliouche, Takumi Minamino and Eliesse Ben Seghir supported striker Breel Embolo.
Meanwhile, Hansi Flick in the away dugout named Marc-Andre ter Stegen between the posts. Inigo Martinez joined Pau Curbasi in the heart of defence, with Alejandro Balde on the left and Jules Kounde on the right. Garcia, though usually a defender, played in midfield, along side Marc Casado. In the absence of the injured Dani Olmo, Pedri operated a little further up in the No. 10 role, with Yamal and Raphinha attacking from the flanks, and Robert Lewandowski playing as the focal point in attack.
Ter Stegen’s mistakes to blame for Barcelona defeat
Ter Stegen is, of course, a world-class goalkeeper who has rightly inherited the role of Germany’s No. 1 from Manuel Neuer after the Euros this year. He now has 42 caps for his country, and with 419 matches for Barcelona under his belt, along with five La Liga titles and a Champions League medal to his name, the 32-year-old certainly boasts plenty of top-level experience. However, all those achievements only make the mistakes he made in this match more glaring.
There was nothing Ter Stegen could’ve done to prevent Akliouche’s opener in the 16th minute – it was a truly fantastic goal from the Monaco winger. But it was him who put Garcia in a huge problem which preceded the red card as Minamino’s press robbed the Barcelona midfielder of the ball, and trying with all his might to prevent his team from conceding a goal, Garcia brought the former Liverpool man down, denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
There can be no discussion about the decision of referee Allard Lindhout from Netherlands to brandish the red card, but why exactly Ter Stegen chose to pass to him when he had other options is hard to understand.
Playing for over 80 minutes a man down, the fact that Barcelona had no more that 44% possession in the match isn’t to be wondered at, and the same goes for the Catalans taking a total of four shots while Monaco had 18. However, it can be argued that a team aiming to win the title in one of Europe’s top five leagues and the Champions League simply cannot allow themselves to be outplayed like that, even
Ter Stegen cannot be blamed directly for the Monaco winner, given that his teammates allowed Ilenikhena to break clear and take him on one-on-one, but the shot, though powerful, was aimed almost straight at the Barcelona ‘keeper, who failed to divert it sufficiently to prevent it from going in. That’s another thing that shouldn’t be happening to such a proven shot-stopper.
After the match, Ter Stegen said he and Garcia didn’t communicate very well in the situation which led to the red card, but that statement puts a question mark over his ability to take responsibility for his mistakes too.
One bad game doesn’t mean the world coming to an end, but if they’re going to stay in the race for the biggest trophies this season, Barcelona will need their goalkeeper to put his mistakes behind him and perform much better than he did against Monaco.
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