AS Monaco – Barcelona: Catalans Flicked Away After Red Card Fiasco (2-1)

One loose pass can flip a game onto its head. AS Monaco where tasked with breaking down Barcelona in a different way after an early red card saw Barca reduced to ten men. Despite the advantage, Adi Hütter had to add more tools to get the job done.

Tactical analysis and match report by Joel Parker.

In the glitz and glam of the Champions League, Monaco and Barca have rarely crossed paths but do so having both made unbeaten starts to their seasons.

Adi Hütter may not have the future stardom that previous Monaco teams have had, but has built a solid team that finished runners-up to PSG last campaign; securing a first Champions League appearance since 2018. No team presses as high as Hütter’s Monaco in Ligue 1, and three of their four victories have come with them dominating their opponents comfortably.

The long-term sustainability of Barca is still in doubt, but the short-term picture is much brighter. Seventeen goals and five wins in five has Hansi Flick’s team on top of the La Liga standings, and perhaps no team has hit the standard that they’ve set so far this season.

Monaco made just two changes from their 3-0 win over Auxerre at the weekend. Caio Henrique was replaced by Wilfried Singo and Aleksandr Golovin came out of the attack for Takumi Minamino.

Barca made just a single change, from their team’s impressive 4-1 victory over Girona. Dani . . .