Monaco stunned Spanish power shorthanded Barcelona in the Champions League on Thursday.
Even more surprising was Monaco’s dominance of the match. A goal in the 71st minute by 18-year-old George Ilenikhena in his Champions League debut gave Monaco the 2–1 victory.
Barcelona was under duress from the early part of the game when Eric García was shown a red card in the 10th minute. Monaco took advantage and took a 1–0 lead on a goal by Maghnes Akliouche six minutes later.
Lamine Yamal answered for Barcelona in the 28th minute but spent the rest of the time chasing the game. Barcelona has won five Champions League titles, but on this night, the Spaniards were outclassed by Monaco, which outshot its opponent 18–4.
French squad Brest made history by winning its inaugural game in the Champions League, knocking off visiting Austria’s Sturm Graz 2–1. After Hugo Magnetti gave Brest the lead in the 23rd minute, Edimilson Fernandes tied the game in extra time in the first half. However, Abdallah Sima scored the winner in the 56th minute.
Bayer Leverkusen became the latest Bundesliga team to show its scoring prowess in the elite competition.
The German side put on a dominant performance with a 4–0 victory over Feyenoord Rotterdam. Florian Wirtz, who was making his Champions League debut, got off to a solid start with a goal in the 5th minute. Wirtz scored again in the 36th minute, while Alejandro Grimaldo also scored for Bayer Leverkusen. Feyenoord Rotterdam had an own goal near the end of the half on a gaffe by goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther.
Feyenoord, which finished second in the Dutch league last season, tried to slow the game, but Bayer Leverkusen was too technically gifted and could not be contained.
Bayer Leverkusen’s offense output was outshined by league rival Bayern Munich, which cruised past Dinamo Zagreb 9–2 on Tuesday. English international Harry Kane had four goals for Bayern Munich.
Benfica overcame a late rally by Red Star Belgrade and held on for a 2–1 win. Kerem Aktürkoglu gave the Portuguese side the lead in the 9th minute when he fired a shot into the bottom left corner of the goal from close range. Orkun Kökçü provided a 2–0 advantage in the 29th minute with a deft free kick.
Felicio Milson pulled Red Star Belgrade to within one on a goal with four minutes left in regulation on a through ball from Cherif Ndiaye. However, Benfica stayed organized defensively the rest of the way and escaped with the victory.
José María Giménez scored in the 90th minute to give Atletico Madrid a thrilling 2–1 victory over RB Leipzig. Benjamin Sesko put Atletico on its heels when he scored on a header in the 4th minute. However, Antoine Griezmann tied the game for Atletico in the 28th minute off a cross from Marcos Llorente, and the Spanish team avoided the second huge upset of the day.
Neither Atalanta nor Arsenal could generate much offense in a 0–0 draw. Goalkeeper David Raya saved the day for the Gunners when he stopped a penalty kick and follow-up header from Mateo Retegui in the 51st minute. The rest of the match was even and the draw was a fair result.
