Barcelona found itself forced to complete its match against Monaco with 10 players early on, and fell into the trap of losing (1-2).
Barcelona defender Eric Garcia committed a foul in front of his team’s penalty area, just 10 minutes into the match, which required him to receive a red card.
This came after goalkeeper Stegen made a huge mistake by trying to pass the ball to Garcia, who was under the supervision of Takumi Minamino.
The Japanese player pounced on the ball before Garcia, forcing the latter to obstruct him, instead of running with the ball alone with the Barça goalkeeper.
Therefore, the referee awarded a free kick in Monaco’s favour, before showing the Barcelona player a red card, making it the fastest expulsion in Barcelona’s history in the Champions League, according to Opta statistics.
Despite Stegen committing a “passing error,” Barcelona’s captain and goalkeeper tried to hold his teammate Garcia “along with him” responsible for the shot that played a decisive role in the team’s loss.
The German goalkeeper said in statements after the match, as reported by the newspaper “Mundo Deportivo”: “Eric and I did not understand each other. We made a mistake, it cannot happen.”
Stegen expressed his regret for Garcia’s “dismissal”, stressing that Barcelona showed great resilience, despite playing for 80 minutes with a numerical disadvantage against Monaco.
Stegen admitted that the Spanish team tried to leave their rival’s ground with a “draw” after this numerical deficit, but Monaco snatched the victory with a second goal that he described as “coming at a surprising moment.”
Stressing that Barcelona’s goal is always to win, whether in the Spanish League or the Champions League, noting that the team will try to make up for it in the upcoming matches.
The goalkeeper’s statements angered the Spanish press after the defeat, and journalist Xavi Lemos commented: “As a leader, you have to take responsibility instead of trying to distribute blame in a situation that caused the defeat.”
While journalist Alfredo Martinez said: “I think what Stegen did by putting the blame on others is worse than what he did on the pitch.”
It is noteworthy that this loss is the first for Barcelona in the current sports season, under the leadership of coach Hans Flick, after 5 consecutive victories in the Spanish League.
Source:RT
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2024-09-20 16:08:16
