Hansi Flick has singled out Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s early red card from the Champions League as a pivotal moment for the team. “The red card completely changed the game,” the former national team boss said after the 2-1 defeat to AS Monaco. “It completely changed our thinking and game plan.”
Ter Stegen had a poor pass into Monaco’s Takumi Minamino’s path early on, and Eric Garcia was shown a red card for a foul on the edge of the area (11th). “In this situation, we didn’t understand each other. I feel sorry for Eric,” Ter Stegen was quoted as saying by Spanish newspaper AS. The 32-year-old has been captain of Spain’s top football club since the start of this season.
Criticism in the press
“We have to accept it, it happens,” Flick said. “But I think we are strong enough to play in a good Champions League. We have a lot of games to play, we will win a lot of games and we will achieve our goal in the end.”
The Spanish press was critical of the game. “Barça committed suicide in Monaco,” read the bold text “Marca.” “Playing 80 minutes in the Champions League with a numerical disadvantage is fatal and this was no exception.” “Barça’s greatest sin in Monaco,” wrote the portal “Sport.” Former basketball superstar Michael Jordan was in the stands watching the game.
Former basketball superstar Michael Jordan (M) made a notable appearance in the stands. Photo: Laurent Cipriani/AP
Barça get back in the game with great talent.
Numerically inferior Barcelona had to accept goals from Magnes Akliuce (16th) and George Ilenikena (71st), before super-talented Lamine Yamal (28th) managed to equalise. “We have to analyse it, but I also told the team: keep your head down,” Flick said. “We see the positives. Of course, we will analyse it and talk to the players about what we did wrong.”
Meanwhile, former Bundesliga coach Adi Hütter, who will be in charge of Monaco from 2023, was delighted with the stunning victory. “I’m very happy,” said the Austrian. “The red card was definitely in our favour. We had an extra player on the pitch, which helped us a lot.” Hütter said the goal came “out of the blue”. “Ramine Yamal showed what a great player he is.”
