Ten-man Barcelona lose 2-1 to Monaco in UEFA Champions League opener

Barcelona made a disappointing start to their 2024-25 UEFA Champions League campaign by losing 2-1 to AS Monaco on Thursday after suffering an early blow from defender Eric Garcia's dismissal.

Barcelona had a dreadful start at the Stade Louis II stadium when Garcia was shown a straight red card 11 minutes in for a foul on Monaco's Takumi Minamino, who was clear in front of goal after a misplaced pass from goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

"We didn't understand each other in that moment, I feel bad for Eric," Ter Stegen told Movistar Plus. "We played 80 minutes with one less. It's a football thing. The defeat hurts, because with 10 men on the pitch we gave our all and tried to get a point."

The hosts grabbed the lead five minutes later when Maghnes Akliouche struck a low shot into the net, before Barcelona's Lamine Yamal equalized in the 28th minute by finishing from the edge of the penalty area.

It was the first Champions League goal for Yamal who became the second-youngest scorer (17-years-and-68-day old) in the competition behind teammate Ansu Fati in 2019 (17-year-and-40-day old).

Monaco kept pushing and got their reward in the 71st minute when substitute George Ilenikhena fired past Ter Stegen to secure victory in their first main stage appearance in five years in Europe's elite club competition.

"The game changed completely (with the red card)," Barcelona manager Hansi Flick said. "We tried all the time, we defended with passion. We made some mistakes, but we tried to score goals. We had a few chances, but they deserved to win.

"Now we have to come back stronger, recover for Sunday's game at Villarreal in La Liga. We have to give our best and fight for the team," the German coach added.

Feyenoord 0-4 Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Bayer 04 Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz had been eagerly anticipating playing Champions League football and wasted no time seizing his opportunity with two goals as his side handed hosts Feyenoord a 4-0 hammering at De Kuip.

Twenty-one-year-old Wirtz had Leverkusen ahead in the fifth minute, taking advantage of a defensive slip with the help of teammate Robert Andrich, and then finished off a precision cross from Jeremie Frimpong to make it 3-0 after 36 minutes. 

Atalanta 0-0 Arsenal

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hailed his goalkeeper David Raya after the Spaniard's miraculous double save earned his side a 0-0 draw away to Atalanta in the Champions League.

But for Raya saving Mateo Retegui's 51st-minute penalty and then somehow springing across his goal to claw out the same player's headed rebound effort, Arsenal could have begun their group games with a damaging defeat.

Atletico Madrid 2-1 RB Leipzig

A late header by defender Jose Maria Gimenez gave Atletico Madrid a 2-1 win over RB Leipzig in their Champions League opener. The German visitors took a shock lead in the fourth minute thanks to a header by striker Benjamin Sesko after a quick counter-attack.

However, Antoine Griezmann struck a fine volley into the top corner in the 28th minute to level the score. Atletico dominated the match with 20 attempts on goal in total, but it wasn't until the 90th minute that they finally managed to find the winner, with Gimenez heading in a cross from Griezmann.

Red Star Belgrade 1-2 Benfica

Stade Brestois 29 2-1 SK Sturm Graz