2024-09-19 21:41:17
AS Monaco beat FC Barcelona on Thursday in the first day of the Champions League, while Brest, who had never played a European Cup match, made a successful start by dominating Sturm Graz.
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With a numerical advantage, Monaco beat Lamine Yamal’s FC Barcelona (2-1) at Louis-II on Thursday, September 19, during the first day of the Champions League, which also saw Brest dominate Sturm Graz at Roudourou.
AS Monaco could have feared Hansi Flick’s Barcelona, first in La Liga with five wins in five matches. But Adi Hütter’s men started their match very well to the point of forcing the exclusion of Eric Garcia.
The midfielder held back Minamino who was racing towards goal, and whose anticipation to intercept Ter Stegen’s pass caused the Barcelona rearguard to panic (10th).
Maghnes Akliouche quickly capitalised on this advantage by unleashing a low shot at the near post to deceive the German goalkeeper (16th minute), under the eyes of Michael Jordan in the stands.
But Lamine Yamal, who has been sparkling since the start of the season and riding the wave of his Euro gala, brought the Catalans back to level by managing to refocus at the edge of the area before also striking low at the near post (28th).
Coming into play in the second half and launched deep, the Nigerian George Ilenikhena, 18, won his duel against Ter Stegen by striking hard into the centre of the goal (71st).
Arsenal held in check
Another satisfaction for France: Brest, who had never played a European Cup match, made a successful start to the most prestigious of competitions.
First with a beautiful sequence of chest control – recovery from Hugo Magnetti (23rd). The equalizer on a counterattack and an own goal from Edimilson Fernandes (45+1st) cooled the Roudourou stadium in Guingamp, where Brest’s C1 matches are relocated.
The Brestois did not let themselves be put off: Sima, thanks to a lot of physical work as a pivot, gave the Brestois the advantage again (56th).
In Madrid, Atletico were quickly surprised by Leipzig and rising star Benjamin Sesko (4th), but Antoine Griezmann scored a nice rebound to equalise (28th) before providing a magnificent assist for Jose Maria Gimenez’s header (90th).
Arsenal could do no better than draw with Bergamo (0-0), but it could have been worse, as Italian striker Mateo Retegui missed a penalty.
In the matches scheduled for 18:45, Bayer Leverkusen crushed Feyenoord Rotterdam on their home turf (4-0), with all four goals, including a double from the virtuoso Florian Wirtz, scored in the first half. Xabi Alonso’s team is already showing that its domination of German football last season could translate into a fine run in the Champions League.
Angel Di Maria’s Benfica Lisbon went on to beat Red Star in Belgrade (2-1).
With AFP
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