When the final whistle blew, Barcelona lost 1-2 to the home team AS Monaco. The away team's players collapsed on the field in disappointment, including Marc Casado, who played his heart out and left many impressions.
Barca started their Champions League opener in the worst possible way, with Eric Garcia receiving a straight red card in the 10th minute. Lamine Yamal then equalised to make it 1-1, but the Blaugrana could not withstand the pressure of their opponents, who were playing with one less man. The 71st minute goal put the Camp Nou team under pressure to play in the play-offs after the first round.
This is the first defeat since the beginning of the season for captain Hansi Flick. Earlier in August, also AS Monaco, Barca won against the Ligue-1 representative in the Joan Gamper Trophy.
In a match where all tactical plans were almost ruined because of having to play with one less man, Marc Casado emerged as the most positive point in the visitors' mess. Barca's midfield is currently very thin with a series of injured key players such as Marc Bernal, Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Dani Olmo.
Having to play 80 minutes with one less man was too difficult for Barcelona. When Garcia left the field, Pedri was forced to play deeper to support the defense. In the face of such adversity, Casado had many confident situations with the ball to penetrate the opponent's defense. Although it was his first Champions League match, Casado's confidence made him no different from a veteran in this playground.
Casado's strong point in this match was his initiative, he often ran close to his teammates to ask for the ball, thereby acting as a bridge for further development. Not only that, if he felt pressured when Monaco pressed, Casado would use his technique to relieve the pressure.
Casado's 65 touches were Barcelona's best in the game. The 21-year-old's passing and confidence kept Barca from falling apart too early. It was Casado who set up Lamine Yamal, who was also making his Champions League debut.
This is Casado's second assist in the last two matches. Flick was impressed by Casado during the summer friendly. Since then, the German coach has placed almost absolute trust in this young star from La Masia. Flick always compares Marc Casado to Joshua Kimmich, one of the most versatile and talented players in German football in the past 10 years.
Casado finished the match in Monaco limping. It could have been a mild injury or simply exhaustion from the physical torture of playing with 10 men. As his teammates helped Casado relax, Flick ran onto the pitch to check on his player.
"The whole team gave more than 100% today, Casado was one of them. I am proud of the club and have to accept the defeat today. We have seven more games in the first phase of the Champions League.
As for Casado, he only has a slight pain, everything is fine" - Flick shared after the match.
