Eric García was only on the pitch for 10 minutes against Monaco before a red card sent him to the locker room.
Barcelona's 2024–25 Champions League campaign got off to a nightmare start at the Stade Louis II. In the 10th minute, Marc-André ter Stegen delivered a poor, lackadaisical pass out of his own penalty area that was quickly intercepted by Takumi Minamino.
The midfielder was through on goal before García clumsily challenged the Monaco man, bringing him down just at the edge of the box. The tackle was a clear denial of a goalscoring opportunity and the 23-year-old was shown a straight red card.
Barcelona are down to 10 men in the 10th minute after Eric Garcia gets a straight red 😳 pic.twitter.com/TMYu4u0uTU
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 19, 2024
The midfielder was the only change to Hansi Flick's XI in the wake of Dani Olmo's injury. Instead of giving Ferran Torres the nod up top, the German manager instead opted to slot García alongside Marc Casadó in a double pivot.
Flick's young Barcelona squad now must battle with ten men for 80 minutes plus stoppage time in its first European match of the season. To make matters worse for the Catalans, Monaco found the match's opening goal just six minutes later.
Lamine Yamal got Barcelona on the scoresheet to bring the score to 1–1, but there is still a long way to go for Barcelona if the club wants to leave France with at least a point.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona's Eric Garcia Receives Red Card vs. AS Monaco – Champions League.
