- Barca beaten under Hansi Flick for the first time as disappointing Champions League opener
- Eric Garcia was sent off after only ten minutes before Maghnes Akliouche's strike
- Lamine Yamal equalised but George Ilenikhena earned Ligue 1 side all three points
Barcelona fell to a first competitive defeat under manager Hansi Flick as they were beaten by French side Monaco in the Champions League after having Eric Garcia sent off.
Barca's unbeaten start to the season came under immediate threat when their central midfielder was given a red card for a professional foul, though Lamine Yamal managed to equalise after Maghnes Akliouche's strike.
However, the depleted Blaugrana couldn't hold on as George Ilenikhena consigned them to defeat with a second-half goal in the newly rebranded league phase of Europe's elite club competition.
How the game unfolded
Barca's start to the new campaign has been, somewhat surprisingly, overwhelmingly positive. After Xavi Hernandez's chaotic dismissal, five wins from five La Liga fixtures have sent Flick's new team to the top of Spain's first division.
They haven't made the semi-finals of the Champions League since 2019, however, and their start to the new league phase of the competition was horrendous as Monaco gained a player and goal advantage in quick succession.
In only the tenth minute, Garcia was caught dawdling on the edge of his own box - not helped by a poor Marc-Andre ter Stegen pass - by Takumi Minamino and clumsily brought down the former Liverpool attacker. Referee Allard Lindhout dismissed the 23-year-old, handing Barca an almighty setback.
Soon after, the unbeaten Monaco took the lead. The rocked Barca didn't know whether to close down Akliouche or let him run and the young attacker made the Catalan giants pay, cutting in off the right wing and slamming his left-footed shot past Ter Stegen at the near post.
After scoring 17 goals in five La Liga games without much adversity to deal with, Barca and Flick were suddenly staring at the biggest challenge of the German's brief reign. Thankfully for the visitors, a young but already familiar talisman stepped up to drag them back into the contest.
It was barely a half-chance for Yamal, who got in behind the Monaco defence and swerved infield, tucking his shot beyond Philipp Kohn in a similar fashion to Akliouche's strike.
That finish saw the Euro 2024 winner become the second youngest goalscorer in Champions League history at 17 years and 68 days, second only to current teammate Ansu Fati at 17 and 40.
Having looked shellshocked in the immediate aftermath of Garcia's red card and going behind, Barca quickly had a new foothold in the match and a defensive mix-up nearly saw Alejandre Balde put the Blaugrana ahead, but the left-back dragged his effort wide.
Half-time came and went with Monaco frustrated to only be on level terms despite dominating the first 45 minutes, having been sucker-punched by Barca's sole shot on target.
Raphinha very nearly scampered in on goal having been played in by a long ball over the top, but Kohn rushed out of his penalty area and nailed a slide tackle to stop the Brazilian having an empty net to tap into.
While the visitors largely managed to restrict Monaco's efforts on goals to speculative shots from distance which Ter Stegen dealt with largely comfortably, the numbers game eventually caught up with Barca. The goal came in maddeningly simple fashion for Monaco, too.
Pau Cubarsi missed a header and Inigo Martinez played George Ilenikhena onside from a long punt forward, allowing the teenage substitute to race through and finish powerfully, his kick deflecting off Ter Stegen and in.
Folarin Balogun looked to have won a penalty to wrap up the points for Monaco late on, but a check from the video assistant referee showed the USMNT initiating contact and the decision was reversed.
While Flick made late changes to force the issue, no further equaliser came as Barca slumped to defeat in their first league phase outing of the season.
Barcelona player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Marc-Andre ter Stegen - 4/10 - Made a number of comfortable saves which kept Barca on level terms but played Garcia into trouble and was disappointingly beaten for the winning goal.
RB: Jules Kounde - 5/10 - Had little attacking to do after the red card and was given a few uncomfortable moments by Eliesse Ben Seghir.
CB: Pau Cubarsi - 6/10 - Showed composure in spells and wasn't daunted by the big challenge Barca were handed early on, but his inexperience did show for the second Monaco goal.
CB: Inigo Martinez - 4/10 - A little too slow and cumbersome in the face of some pacy Monaco attackers.
LB: Alejandre Balde - 5/10 - Like Kounde on the opposite flank, Balde was consigned to a purely defensive brief and didn't do enough to close down Akliouche.
CM: Eric Garcia - 2/10 - Didn't have enough time to settle himself into the game before giving his side an almighty mountain to climb with a poor touch and subsequent red card.
CM: Marc Casado - 7/10 - Grabbed the assist for Yamal's goal - though it was more about the teenager's wizardy - and had to break up play with tackles and even fouls at points.
RW: Lamine Yamal - 8/10 - The youngster's reputation continues to grow even when Barca lose. He stepped up when his side were looking clueless with his goal, though it wasn't enough to salvage anything from the fixture.
AM: Pedri - 6/10 - His more attacking brief quickly became a holding role following Garcia's dismissal. Was outnumbered a few times in midfield but his work rate was unquestionably high.
LW: Raphinha - 6/10 - Might have had an empty net to tap into on another day and showed good enterprise, even with Barca a player down.
ST: Robert Lewandowski - 5/10 - Didn't get a shot away in the whole match, though his ineffectiveness was largely the result of Garcia's red card.
Substitutes
SUB: Ferran Torres (79' for Cubarsi) - 5/10
SUB: Sergi Dominguez (79' for Lewandowski) - 5/10
SUB: Gerard Martin (80' for Yamal) - 5/10
SUB: Pablo Torre (83' for Torres) - 5/10
SUB: Ansu Fati (88' for Balde) - N/A
Subs not used: Guillermo Fernandez, Ander Astralaga (GK), Inaki Pena (GK), Andreas Cuenca, Hector Fort, Antonio Fernandez, Pau Victor.
Manager
Hansi Flick - 6/10 - His gameplan was pretty much torn up by Garcia's dismissal but Flick would have been encouraged by his side's spirit, even if they eventually fell to defeat late on.
