Before the main event took place on Thursday evening, AS Monaco beat Barcelona (4-3) to get their UEFA Youth League campaign off to the perfect start in La Turbie.
It was one of the graduates from Monaco’s prestigious La Diagonale academy, Maghnes Akliouche, who netted the opener in the senior side’s 2-1 victory over Barcelona inside a packed Stade Louis II. The likes of Saimon Bouabré, John Tincres and Mayssam Benama dream of following a similar trajectory asthe France youth international; Bouabré in particular showed that he has the technical ability to do so in the future, but it was a strong collective performance that allowed Monaco to defeat arguably the most prestigious academy in world football – La Masia.
Besides the swathes of physical and technical quality, Djimi Traoré’s displayed their mental fortitude in a match in which they had to twice come from behind. Despite starting with intensity, it was Barcelona who took the lead through Arnau Pradas, before Hugo Alba then doubled the Spanish side’s lead from the spot.
It was an uphill battle to get back into the match but Les Monégasques finished the first half with a flourish. Nick Mokabakila found Tincres at the back post and, buoyed by halving the deficit, the highly impressive Bouabré drew Monaco level with a sumptuous curling effort. That quickfire double saw Monaco head into the break level, however, there was once again a drop-off upon the return from the dressing room.
It was a lack of coordination and intensity in the press that allowed Barcelona to re-seize control of the fixture. “One of our principles of play is to try and win the ball high, go and press them, but when you’re late in doing so, that hurts […] when you’re playing against strong sides, you have to choose the right moments to go and press,” reflected Traoré post-match.
In front of the onlooking Deco and Bojan Krkic, both legends of La Masia, Pedro Fernandez Sarmiento put Barcelona back in the lead. However, Monaco’s response was immediate. It was once again Mokabakila who found Tincres in the box, with the latter making no mistake with his finish.
Then, with the game seemingly drifting towards a draw, Tincres, scorer of a brace, turned the provider, sliding through Lorenzo Carvalho, who kept his composure to put Monaco 4-3 up and secure the win. “It was a big challenge to play against a team like Barcelona […] they hurt us but we showed a lot of character; that is what I liked,” reacted Traoré.
That “character” will also have impressed club CEO Thiago Scuro, who was in attendance alongside president Dmitry Rybolovlev and technical director Carlos Aviña. Their presence highlights the continued importance of developing players at AS Monaco, and just like the former Diagonale players who shone under the bright lights against Barcelona on Thursday night, the next generation will be looking to accelerate their development over the course of this UEFA Youth League campaign – next up, Dinamo Zagreb.
Monaco Life is produced by real multi-media journalists writing original content. See more in our free newsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on Threads, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Tik Tok.
Photo credit: Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life