Barcelona’s winger, Raphinhahe commented as follows to Sky Sports the defeat suffered at home to Monaco this evening in the first matchday of the Champions League: “It’s difficult to talk after a defeat. After the expulsion we suffered, but we still played well. In possession we did many positive things. It’s clear, however, that it’s complicated to play with ten against eleven for 80 minutes, especially away from home. Now let’s think about the next match. With 60-70 matches a season, a defeat can happen, especially in this initial phase. This is the best time to lose”.
The story of Monaco-Barcelona 2-1
An 18-year-old overturns a 17-year-old’s goal, after a 22-year-old’s temporary lead. No, this is not a Youth League match, but a summary of Monaco-Barcelona. At 18 years and 34 days, George Ilenikhena has become Monaco’s youngest ever scorer in the Champions League, beating the record of a certain Kylian Mbappé and above all the goal for the final 2-1 against the Blaugrana in the 71st minute. The first half of the big match valid for the first day of the championship phase of the new Champions League, which took place at the Stade Louis II, was instead decided by goals from Akliouche in the 16th minute and Yamal in the 28th minute. The match, in any case, was clearly influenced by the direct red card received by Eric Garcia in the 11th minute.