Champions League Preview: Barcelona’s Attack Flourishes with Multiple Scorers, Monaco’s Defense Stands Firm – Who Will Secure the Opening Victory?

At 3:00 AM on September 20, the first round of the group stage for the 24/25 Champions League season continues, with Barcelona traveling to face Monaco. The two teams met in the preseason Gamper Trophy, where Barcelona suffered a 0-3 defeat, and now they are eager for revenge.

Although Barcelona’s summer transfer operations were not as satisfactory, spending 62 million euros to bring in Olmo but failing to secure the highly sought-after young star Nico Williams, under Flick’s leadership, the Blaugrana have been playing quite fiercely, maintaining a perfect record in the first five rounds of La Liga, scoring an impressive 17 goals, successfully keeping their arch-rivals Real Madrid at bay.

The current Barcelona can be described as having multiple scoring threats, with already six players finding the back of the net. Lewandowski, Yamal, Rafinha, Olmo, Ferran Torres, Pedri, and even Koundé have all scored, spread across the front, midfield, and defense, making it very difficult for opponents to contain them. More importantly, Barcelona has under Flick’s guidance reinstated the high pressing strategy, reminding fans of the peak Barcelona era.

Barcelona’s fierce form is largely due to the 17-year-old Yamal, who brought his scorching form from the European Championship into the new season, delivering 3 goals and 4 assists in the first five league games, directly participating in 7 goals, equal to the total number of goals scored by Real Madrid. In addition, Lewandowski, despite his age, has improved his goal-scoring rate, helping the Blaugrana shake off their previous slump.

However, Barcelona also faces concerns regarding injuries, with both Firmino and Olmo getting injured early in the season, which is something Flick needs to pay attention to.

Compared to Barcelona, Monaco is relatively low-key, but this does not mean they lack fighting spirit. After the first four rounds of Ligue 1, Monaco remains unbeaten with three wins and one draw, accumulating 10 points and ranking third in the league table, two points behind the top team Paris Saint-Germain. Monaco has scored seven goals in four league matches, their offensive firepower is not particularly strong, but they have kept three clean sheets, conceding only one goal, indicating a certain level of defensive stability.

It must be noted that Monaco’s attack is also characterized by multiple scorers. Midfielder Zakaria contributed two goals and one assist in four games, while Kamara also scored one goal and provided one assist. In the forward line, Ben Siger and Minamino each scored once. Additionally, Vanderson and Thilo Kehrer from the defense have also found the back of the net.

Monaco’s home performance is not particularly strong, with five wins, three draws, and two losses in their last ten home games, giving them a win rate of exactly 50%. Meanwhile, Barcelona has won all three away games in the new season, scoring a total of eight goals, but has yet to keep a clean sheet in any of these games.

Barcelona and Monaco have never met in official competition before, but they did face each other in the Gamper Trophy before the start of the new season, where Barcelona lost 0-3 at home. Meeting again in the Champions League after more than a month, the in-form Barcelona will surely want to seek revenge.

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