FC Barcelona’s dress rehearsal ahead of the start of the season against Valencia went badly wrong. The Catalans lost to AS Monaco – and are also worried about Ilkay Gündogan
For FC Barcelona, it was a test match to forget. Almost at full strength, head coach Hansi Flick’s men were beaten 3-0 by Adi Hütter’s Monaco on Monday evening. Some of the 40,000 spectators in Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium, which continues to serve as an alternative venue during the renovation of the Camp Nou, even acknowledged the first but severe thrashing in the summer preparations with whistles.
The “Trofeo Joan Gamper”, which is traditionally played in honor of soccer pioneer Joan Gamper – the Swiss is responsible for the founding of FC Barcelona – thus moved to the French Mediterranean coast and, for the first time in twelve years, not to the host.
However, the Catalans’ sporting performance, especially in the second half, in which Monaco scored all three goals after a goalless first half, was probably far more serious
Gündogan first substituted, then substituted again
For Flick, this opens up unwanted construction sites just a few days before the La Liga opener against Valencia. The Catalans were unable to build on the sometimes attractive, fast-paced and intense style of play of the other preparation games, when they beat Real (2:1) and drew with Man City (2:2; in regular time), among others. Conversely, Monaco’s speed and depth in attack posed problems for FCB.
To make matters worse, Flick also has to worry about compatriot Gündogan. The DFB captain came on as a second-half substitute but had to come off after just over 20 minutes with a laceration to his head. The 33-year-old had received an unintentional elbow blow. However, it was not yet clear on Monday evening whether Gündogan’s injury was more serious and whether his participation on matchday 1 could be on the cards.