Barcelona vs Monaco player ratings – Eric Garcia red card gives Monaco Champions League win

Barcelona suffered their first competitive defeat under Hansi Flick in their opening Champions League match.

Barcelona have started the 2024-25 La Liga season with a bang. The Catalans have won five of their five games, scoring 17 goals and conceding just four. The pressure is on Flick to translate Barcelona’s early success into the Champions League, a competition in which the club has struggled to find success in recent years. Barcelona’s first European test came against Monaco away.

The Spanish dominated possession from the start, using quick passing to dissect and probe the disciplined Monaco defence. Barcelona were caught out, however, when Marc-André ter Stegen clumsily passed the ball to Eric García. Takumi Minamino robbed the midfielder on the edge of the box, prompting García to make a last-minute clumsy tackle that resulted in a straight red card.

Reduced to ten men, the visitors conceded six minutes later. Barcelona almost watched Maghnes Akliouche dribble into the box, switch to his left foot and shoot at goal past a motionless ter Stegen. But it was Lamine Yamal who brought Barcelona back into the game with a 28th-minute equaliser.

The second half was relatively uneventful for either side until the 72nd minute. Barcelona were caught out by a ball over the area, and George Ilenikhena opened the scoring while Iñigo Martínez was trailing. The substitute put his team ahead 2-1 and ultimately sealed the victory for the hosts.

Monaco could have had a chance from the penalty spot to double their lead, but a VAR analysis determined that Martínez had not fouled Folarin Balogun in the box.

Barcelona failed to equalise in the last minute and returned to Spain with zero points.

Entries

GK: Marc-André ter Stegen – 5/10 – The goalkeeper’s poor pass from his penalty area led to García’s sending off, leaving his team with ten men for 80 minutes. He was beaten near the post on Monaco’s first goal and had several hesitant clearances in the second half.

RB: Jules Koundé – 6/10 – Kounde held Ben Seghir in check, limiting the 19-year-old’s chances in the final third of the pitch. The right-back was one of the leaders of Barca’s counterattack.

CB: Pau Cubarsí – 6/10 – The 17-year-old did what he could to keep Barcelona in the game, making several key clearances to prevent what would be Monaco’s inevitable winning goal.

CB: Iñigo Martinez – 5/10 – Martinez was caught out in the 72nd minute, allowing George Ilenikhena to score Monaco’s winner. He was also fortunate to only receive a yellow card for shoving Wilfried Singo three minutes later.

GM: Alejandro Balde – 5/10 – Balde did well to combine with Raphinha in the second half, but he will be remembered for his failure to close down Akliouche for Monaco’s opening goal.

DM: Eric Garcia – N/A – The midfielder was sent off ten minutes later after denying Takumi Minamino a clear goalscoring opportunity.

DM: Marc Casadó – 7/10 – Casadó delivered a disciplined and intelligent performance against Monaco. The midfielder committed several tactical errors to disrupt the home side’s attacking efforts and valiantly helped his defence survive down to ten men.

AD: Lamine Yamal – 7/10 – After a few uncharacteristic errors early in the game, the teenager took flight and scored his first ever Champions League goal, putting his team on the scoresheet.

AM: Pedri – 5/10 – Pedri was the one who lost the most duels in the match and was outclassed by Akliouche on the first Monaco goal.

LW: Raphinha – 6/10 – The Brazilian had several flashes on the counterattack, but never found the quality in the final third to facilitate or score for Barcelona.

ST: Robert Lewandowski – 5/10 – The forward couldn’t do much in attack once his team was reduced to ten men, but he led the pressing against Monaco.

Replacements

Ferran Torres – 5/10 – The striker only managed to touch the ball twice during his short time on the pitch.

Gerard Martin – 5/10 – Martín had few opportunities to make an impact once Barcelona were already 2-1 down.

Sergi Dominguez – 5/10 – The defender came to strengthen Barcelona’s defense.

Pablo Torre – N / A

Ansu Fati – N / A

Director

Hansi Flick – 6/10 – It would be unfair to judge Flick too harshly after his team fought valiantly for over 85 minutes with ten men. However, the manager made the decision to play García in place of the injured Olmo and the midfielder’s sending off almost handed Monaco victory tonight. Perhaps if Flick had opted for Torres instead, tonight’s result would have been different.