Champions League: AS Monaco record statement win over short-handed Barcelona
AS Monaco enjoyed a memorable return to the Champions League by securing a terrific 2-1 victory over a Barcelona side that played the majority of the fixture with 10 men under the eyes of the Prince Albert II, President Dmitry Rybolovlev and a certain Michael Jordan at the Stade Louis II.
The Match
Picking a side littered with quality for this colossal clash against Hansi Flick’s Barcelona, who were on a five-game winning streak in La Liga, Adi Hutter got his selection spot on, that notably featured a nicely balanced front four of Maghnes Akliouche, Takumi Minamino, Eliesse Ben Seghir and Breel Embolo.
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While ASM began the match strongly, with Ben Seghir firing off their first attempt, their chances of victory were given a huge boost when Eric Garcia received a straight red card 10 minutes in for taking down Minamino.
Les Monegasques duly made the most of their numerical superiority by powering into the lead shortly after through Akliouche’s superb finish.
With Barca well and truly on the back foot, Monaco looked to extend their advantage, as Lamine Camara and Embolo tried their luck.
Just when all seemed to be going in a positive direction for Les Rouge et Blanc, Barcelona levelled the ledger courtesy of Lamine Yamal’s impressive strike against the run of play just prior to the half-hour mark.
The remainder of the first half was all action, with Monaco unleashing some decent shots, while both teams flew into their challenges and looked to impose themselves physically in this fiercely competitive encounter.
Onto the second stanza, and Barcelona were content sitting deeper to kick things off, knowing how important it was to remain defensively stable with a man down.
Following a period of struggling to create anything of note, Vanderson and Minamino’s long range blasts ensured Marc-Andre ter Stegen had to be on his toes.
Having built up the pressure on Barca, Monaco eventually found the back of the net again, this time through George Ilenikhena, who bagged his first professional goal for ASM with aplomb.
Monaco then proceeded to see the game out comfortably to claim a vital triumph on the big stage to begin their Champions League campaign on a high.
Hutter’s Debrief
“As you can imagine, we are very proud and very happy tonight after this success. I am also happy for the team, because it was the first in the Champions League for some players, and for me too, even if it is anecdotal. Finally, I am very happy for the whole club and for our fans, who have been incredible,” a delighted Hutter reflected.
“Obviously the red card received by Eric Garcia in the 10th minute was an advantage for us. It helped us a lot to have one more on the pitch. Despite that, our start to the match was already very good, and I think that in the end we deserved our victory. We created many situations, which the Barcelona goalkeeper saved. For their part, Lamine Yamal showed us once again that he is an incredible player. But once again, overall, we fully deserved to win.
“Like all victories, this one is beautiful, but to be honest, winning against FC Barcelona, one of the best teams in the world, makes us even more proud! It also gives us a lot of confidence. But I’m also happy that we played with so much courage tonight with young players, to the point of causing this red card. We had already shown these values and this pressure during the Joan Gamper Trophy (0-3), notably on Lamine Camara ‘s goal. Obviously, it’s easier when you have one more player, but we showed what it takes to win, and it wasn’t that easy.”
Key Stats
By the numbers, the fact ASM held the ascendancy in terms of expected goals (1.32 to 0.41), total shots (18 to 4), shots on target (8 to 1), shots inside the box (14 to 2), passes in the opposition half (200 to 93) and overall duels won (44 to 38) accentuated their dominance.
Focus shifts
Following this tremendous success, Monaco will now immediately turn their attention to their match with Le Havre on Sunday in Ligue 1, where they’ll be keen to keep up their momentum from this magical night at the office against one of the elite outfits in world football.
A triumphant double against Barca, this time in the Youth League
The victory of the first team was not the only achievement of the day! A few hours earlier, the youngsters of AS Monaco in the Youth League made a heroic comeback against Barca under the eyes of President Dmitry Rybolovlev. Trailing 2-0 at home, the Red and Whites produced a sensational comeback to win 4-3 at the Performance Centre.
Thanks to goals from Joan Tincres (brace), Saimon Bouabre and Lorenzo Carvalho, the young Monegasques got their European campaign off to a perfect start. This success in the Youth League echoes that of the seniors, testifying to the club’s great dynamic this season. The next event for them: Dinamo Zagreb, on October 2.
Les 4️⃣ buts inscrits par nos jeunes Rouge & Blanc face au @FCBarcelona (4-3) en @UEFAYouthLeague 🎥😍#ASMFCB #MadeInLaDiagonale pic.twitter.com/ZJnIdR7SLX
— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) September 19, 2024