AS Monaco breeze by Barcelona in Joan Gamper Trophy
A prestigious victory for the Rouge et Blanc © AS Monaco
AS Monaco impressively defeated Barcelona 0-3 in the 59th edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy under the eyes of President Dmitry Rybolovlev and their two Vice-Presidents Ekaterina Sartori Rybolovleva and Juan Sartori.
The Match
Adi Hutter selected a strong squad for this prestigious showpiece at the Olympic Stadium Lluis Companys de Montjuic, with Eliesse Ben Seghir notably handed a start fresh from winning an Olympic bronze with Morocco.
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It was Hansi Flick’s team who raced out of the blocks, though, admirably getting off to a fast start, as Pau Victor and Inigo Martinez fired off early warning shots while ASM settled into the contest.
Denis Zakaria would launch Les Monegasques’ first attempt in the 24th minute, which was well off target.
Both teams then traded chances prior to the interval, for the likes of Alejandro Balde, Breel Embolo, Folarin Balogun and Raphinha, who had a goal chalked out for offside, all tried to propel their respective teams into the ascendancy.
Eager to begin the second stanza with intent, ASM were duly rewarded for their approach, as they took the lead through talented new signing Lamine Camara five minutes after the restart, whose superbly timed pressing was the catalyst for his masterfully taken goal.
Not content with that, Hutter’s men quickly went two goals ahead when Embolo smartly chipped Marc-Andre ter Stegen following some masterful work by Takumi Minamino.
Despite Barcelona proceeding to enjoy some decent opportunities, Monaco would have the final say, with Christian Mawissa sealing the win and marking his debut with a classy finish at the death.
Hutter’s Debrief
“It was a great evening. I am happy and satisfied because no one expected us to win this match 0-3. Especially since at the beginning we had difficulty getting into the game and made a few small technical errors. But then we got better and better, and this win is a fantastic result for us. Now we will start the championship against Saint-Etienne, and I expect a very difficult match,” explained the Austrian tactician.
“In the second half, we were in the middle block, because you can’t press this Barcelona team for 90 minutes. The team responded well, and even though we still have to work on some details, we showed a lot of courage. We were keen to show that we are a good team. Congratulations to my players, because this victory will give them a lot of confidence.
“I don’t want to get carried away with tonight’s match. We still have to integrate our new players, and then we still have important players missing like Aleksandr Golovin and Krepin Diatta. We also have to wait for the returns of Maghnes Akliouche, Soungoutou Magassa and Chrislain Matsima, who have just played in the Games.”
Ligue 1 Opener Awaits
Having just recorded this confidence-boosting triumph in this coveted trophy over Barcelona, who hadn’t lost in this competition since 2012, all the attention will immediately shift to their Ligue 1 opener vs. Saint-Etienne, where they’ll be looking to kick-off their campaign in style.
