Barcelona loses in Monaco, Arsenal draws against Atalanta

French club Monaco managed to emerge victorious from its match against host Barcelona (2-1), while the match between Italian club Atalanta and English club Arsenal ended in a goalless draw in the first round of the Champions League.

French club Monaco achieved a 2-1 victory over Barcelona on Thursday evening, in the first round of the Champions League, at Louis II Stadium.

Monaco's goals were scored by Magnes Akliuch and George Elenikhina in the 16th and 71st minutes, while Barcelona's only goal was scored by Lamine Yamal in the 28th minute.

With this result, Monaco earned its first 3 points, to be in thirteenth place, while Barcelona has no points in 23rd place.

The match started with pressure from the home team, with a shot from Elias Ben Seghir, which was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Ter Stegen in the 6th minute.

The referee showed a direct red card to Barcelona defender Eric Garcia, after his violent tackle on Minamino in the 10th minute.

Magnus Akliouche succeeded in scoring the opening goal for the French team in the 16th minute, as he took off, dribbled past the Barça defense and fired a powerful shot from inside the area, giving his team the lead.

The French pressure continued, with a shot from Camara going wide of the Spanish goal in the 21st minute.

Jorginho scores Monaco's second goal ⚽️ #ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/9EYGvMklaG

— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) September 19, 2024

The young player, Lamine Yamal, brought the Catalan team back into the match, scoring the equaliser in the 28th minute, firing a rocket from outside the area into the net of goalkeeper Philippe Kuhn.

Monaco players tried to double the score with shots from Ben Seghir and Minamino, but they passed without threatening Barcelona's goal.

The first half ended in a 1-1 draw.

At the start of the second half, Vanderson fired a powerful shot, but Ter Stegen brilliantly saved it in the 57th minute.

Lamine Yamal fired a rocket from inside the area, but it went wide of the left post in the 62nd minute.

The attempts continued from both sides, until George Elenikhina succeeded in adding the second goal for Monaco in the 71st minute. From an organized counterattack, Vanderson passed to Elenikhina, who ran and shot.
Bottom right of goalkeeper Ter Stegen.

The match witnessed Ansu Fati's first appearance this season, after recovering from the injury he suffered, as he participated as a substitute for Alejandro Balde in the 88th minute.

The referee awarded a free kick to Barcelona, which was taken by Rafinha, but his shot went over the crossbar, wasting the Blaugrana's chance to equalize.

Barcelona's attempts failed, and the Catalan team suffered its first loss this season.

Arsenal settle for a point against Atalanta

Arsenal settled for a point at the start of their Champions League campaign, drawing 0-0 with hosts Atalanta on Thursday evening.

The two teams did not provide enough evidence to justify their exit with the three points of the match, and Atalanta wasted a penalty kick in the second half, executed by Matteo Rettig.

Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain in the second round, while Atalanta will visit Shakhtar Donetsk on October 1.

Arsenal's starting lineup saw German Kai Havertz return to midfield to compensate for the absence of the injured Martin Odegaard, with Brazilian Gabriel Jesus occupying the striker position.

Arsenal started the match attacking, as midfielder Thomas Partey passed the ball to right winger Bukayo Saka, who set up the ball to shoot, but his attempt was blocked by the defence in the fifth minute.

Jorginho scores Monaco's second goal ⚽️ #ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/9EYGvMklaG

— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) September 19, 2024

Other matches

Benfica returned from their hosts Red Star Belgrade with a 2-1 win. Benfica scored through Turkish player Kerem Akturkoglu (9) and his compatriot Orkun Kokcu (29), while the only goal for the losing team was scored by Angolan substitute Milson (86).

Bayer Leverkusen also achieved a big win over its host, Feyenoord, 4-0. Florian Wirtz (5 and 36), Alex Grimaldo (30), and Feyenoord goalkeeper Timon Willenroth (own goal) (45) scored the German team's goals.

Source: Kora + Agencies