Philipp Köhn, Denis Zakaria and Breel Embolo put the big FC Barcelona in their place with Monaco. Experts Mladen Petric and Admir Mehmedi talk about the Swiss trio's performance in the blue Sport Studio.
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- Monaco pull off a surprise in their Champions League opener, beating Barcelona, who are still unbeaten this season, 2-1 in front of a home crowd.
- Three Swiss players - Philipp Köhn, Denis Zakaria and Breel Embolo - are in the Monaco starting eleven.
- Experts Mladen Petric and Admir Mehmedi analyze the performances of the three Swiss players in blue Sport's Champions League studio.
AS Monaco face a Herculean task right at the start of the Champions League phase with a home match against FC Barcelona. The Catalans have made a strong start to the season with their new coach Hansi Flick and have won all of their first five LaLiga games.
However, the Monegasques were clearly not impressed by this and put on a great show from the very first second. That paid off. As early as the 11th minute, Embolo and Co. provoked a blunder in Barcelona's back line with their aggressive pressing. Defender Eric Garcia then pulls the emergency brake and is sent off early.
Köhn wins the goalkeeping duel
Monaco took advantage of their superior numbers to record a surprising 2:1 home win thanks to goals from Maghnes Akliouche and George Ilenikhena. The Swiss trio of Philipp Köhn, Denis Zakaria and Breel Embolo also played a big part in the result.
Köhn does not have too much to do due to the numerical superiority. Nevertheless, he won the goalkeeping duel against Barcelona's Marc-André ter Stegen, who was partly responsible for the early sending-off against Garcia. He was powerless against the only goal conceded by wonderkid Lamine Yamal.
Embolo's technical uncleanliness
Denis Zakaria led his team onto the pitch as captain and put in a strong performance. "He led the team to victory. Inconspicuous, but important. He won a lot of the ball and kept his opponents under control. You don't always have to be conspicuous," praised blue Sport expert Mladen Petric.
While Zakaria was on the pitch until the final whistle, Breel Embolo had to leave his place after just under an hour. "He had two or three very good opportunities in the sixteen. With more luck and if he hits the ball better, he could reward himself with a goal," analyzed Admir Mehmedi. "That wasn't the case, he was unlucky in his actions."
For Petric, on the other hand, Embolo's actions are not just down to a lack of luck: "It's also just Breel. He sometimes has this technical uncleanliness," says Petric and is convinced: "If he could still do that, he'd be at a top club in Europe. He has a huge opportunity, but completely over-hits the ball. Unfortunately, you see that with him from time to time."
