Monaco v FC Barcelona: Did you know?
The new-look Champions League is upon us. On September 19, Barça are at the Stade Loiuis II to take on AS Monaco, in full awareness of what a difficult task they face following the meeting between the same two sides just a few weeks ago in the Joan Gamper Trophy. Here are ten keys facts to make sure you are fully up to date ready for the big game.
1 - New era in the UCL
Gone is the old format of four-team groups. From now on, all of the teams in what has been rebranded as the League Stage will be competing against each other, each facing eight randomly selected opponents, but just once. So although Barça will be visiting the principality, Monaco will not be coming back to Catalonia.
2 - Gamper winners
As fate would have it, Barça are opening their campaign against the very same side that they faced in the Joan Gamper Trophy on August 12. In their first ever appearance at the competition, the Monegasques stunned the Estadi Olímpic with a 3-0 win, utterly outplaying the Catalans in the second half. It may have been worrying at the time, but Hansi Flick hadn't quite finished getting things in motion for the competitive season. Since La Liga kicked off, Barça have done nothing but win. So hopefully we can expect a very different story when the sides meet again.
3 - Two strong starts
But although Barça have started their league season in emphatic fashion, getting 12 points from 12 and scoring 13 goals to just three in reply, Monaco haven't got off to such a bad start themselves. They have won 7 of the 9 points at stake, only dropping points when Lens equalised in injury time in their most recent outing. Barça still have the trip to Girona to come before they face the Ligue 1 side, while Monaco are off to Auxerre on Saturday.
4 - Two out of two in the Champions League
Aside from the aforesaid Gamper and a couple of friendlies in 1959 and 1960, the only previous competitive meeting between these teams was in the Champions League of 1993/94. Coached by Johan Cruyff, Barça won 2-0 at Camp Nou with both goals coming from Txiki Begiristáin and then Hristo Stoichkov scored the solitary goal in a 1-0 win away. Both Barça and Monaco eventually advanced from the group.
5 - Young opponent
Barça have a very young squad right now, but so do Monaco. In fact, not one member of their squad is aged over 30, the 'veteran' being Japan's Takumi Minamino at 29. The new signings this season suggest that the club intends to continue focusing on youth, with Thilo Kehrer the oldest (27), followed by Jordan Teze (24), Lamine Camara (20), Christian Mawissa (19) and George Ilenikhena (17).
6 - Familiar faces
A number of the Monaco squad have experience of Spanish football. Ghanaian Mohammed Salisu was an important feature at Real Valladolid, enough to attract the attention of Southampton. He'd play three seasons in the Premier League before moving to Monaco. And Brazilian left back Caio Henrique joined Atlético Madrid in 2016, although his only senior appearance was in a cup match with lower league outfit Guijuelo.
7 - Centenary club
Another coincidence is that while FC Barcelona are getting ready for their 125th anniversary celebrations, Monaco celebrated 100 years since their foundation last August 23.
8 - Champions League debutant manager
Austrian Adi Hütter is coaching the club for the second year, but despite his extensive experience, he has never taken charge of a Champions League match before. But he has coached in 12 games in the qualifying rounds, with Salzburg in his home country and Young Boys of Switzerland, on each occasion negotiating the earlier rounds but falling at the final obstacle.
9 - Fond memories of the stadium
The Stade Louis II held every European Super Cup game from 1998 to 2012, two of which were won by Barça. In 2009 an extra time goal by Pedro secured the win over Shakhtar Donetsk, and two years later Leo Messi and Cesc Fàbregas scored the goals against Porto.
10 - First Euro game under Flick
This will be the German's first UCL game in charge of Barça, although the knows the competition well from his Bayern days. In fact, he won it with the Bavarians in 2020, beating his current club along the way. Now begins his first attempt to win it with a second club. Bring it on!