3 Reasons why Barcelona couldn't get to their dream start in the UCL campaign

FC Barcelona has started their 2024/25 UCL campaign with a loss against French Giants Monaco. Coming off of masterclass performances and being on a winning streak for 5 games, much was expected for the Blaugrana club, unlike what happened. From the beginning till the very end, Monaco stood as the dominating force, being a much-deserved candidate for a win. Be it the early red card of Eric Garcia, Ter Stegen's failures in the Catalan club's goal, or an overall dismal performance, there were very few positives for Barca's perspective. Apart from Lamine Yamal's brilliant goal, there wasn't much more for Hansi Flick and fans to celebrate.

Clearly, the match has presented that the club still needs to work on some crucial aspects to prove itself as a serious contender for European glory. Analyzing the fixture closely, let's look at the three major reasons that influenced the fixture's result in favor of AS Monaco:

Eric Garcia's red card

From the early minutes, Monaco had it clear that they would take their chances, and Eric Garcia's suspension acted as the perfect catalyst for their cause. In the 10th minute, Ter Stegen, despite having players in free positions on both wings, committed a huge blunder trying to complete a pass to Garcia. Clearly, the pivot midfielder wasn't free of Monaco forwards, and as was expected, the ball was intercepted by opponents in between, due to which Garcia had to commit a serious foul to avoid getting behind.

This single decision proved crucial for the game's overall result. Apart from the strategic difficulties that forced Pedri to move behind, reducing the club's forward play opportunities, there was a significant disturbance felt in the club's performance, realizing they had to play the rest 80 minutes with 10 men.