In the Joan Gamper Trophy at the Olympic Stadium on Monday, Barcelona home loss 3-0 to Monaco in the Joan Gamper Trophy marked the end of their pre-season preparations for the upcoming La Liga season.
Monaco’s Second-Half Surge
With goals from Lamine Camara, Breel Embolo, and Christian Mawissa in the second half, the Ligue 1 team defeated Barça in their yearly preseason match for the first time since Sampdoria in 2012.
Mixed Preseason Under New Coach Hansi Flick
The setback caps off a mixed preseason for Barça under new head coach Hansi Flick, who saw the team win games against Real Madrid and Manchester City before losing to AC Milan in the United States.
Due to injuries and international competitions this summer, Flick has not been able to pitch his strongest team so far. Among those remaining out with fitness concerns are Ronald Araújo, Pedro, Gavi, and Frankie de Jong.
Notable Moments and Player Performances
In the preseason match against Monaco, Ferran Torres and Lamina Yamal made their debuts, entering the game off the bench in the second half, but an injury forced Ilkay Gündogan off the field.
Barça will have a difficult trip to Valencia on Saturday to begin the new La Liga season.
Monaco, on the other hand, will go into the new Ligue 1 season confident after defeating the Catalan team handily this past weekend at home against Saint-Étienne.
Barça controlled a quiet first half, but striker Pau Victor missed the best chance after scoring a brace against Real Madrid the previous week.
After the break, Raphinha had a goal disallowed for offside, but Monaco scored twice in seven minutes to silence the slightly over 40,000 spectators at Montjuic.
Looking Ahead to the New Season
Camara caught young midfielder Marc Bernal off guard in the 50th minute, and Embolo scored the second goal seven minutes later with a dinked finish inside the box.
After helping Spain win the European Championships this summer, Yamal was welcomed with open arms by the home crowd. He promptly gave Victor a chance, but Victor missed the mark with his finish.
After that, Gundogan suffered a head injury for Barça, and Mawissa scored a late goal to end the Blaugranas’ most significant loss in Joan Gamper Trophy history.
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