Victory against Barcelona

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Adi Hütter's Monaco beat Barcelona 2:1.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

First game as a coach in the Champions League and then a win against FC Barcelona: Adi Hütter experienced a "perfect start" to the new league phase on Thursday evening at the Stade Louis II of his AS Monaco. The Vorarlberg native emphasized this after the final whistle.

The Monegasques inflicted their first defeat under new coach Hansi Flick with a 2-1 home win over the Spanish league leaders after five previous league victories. "It was a fantastic success," said Hütter.

"Really proud"
It came about just the way the 54-year-old liked it. The 18-year-old striker George Ilenikhena became the match-winner as a "joker" in the 78th minute with the 2:1, after he had outpaced the back line. The opening goal was scored by a 22-year-old, Maghnes Akliouche rewarding himself in the 16th minute for a one-on-one move. "I'm really proud, especially of players like Maghnes Akliouche, who played his first Champions League game, Eliesse Ben Seghir, who is 19, and Lamine Camara, who is 20. That's the young path we want to take here in Monaco," explained Hütter.

He is really happy for the players. "This will certainly be a great memory for them," said Hütter. For him too, of course, as he had been working towards this moment for a long time, having previously played six matches in the "premier class" with Austria Salzburg 30 years ago. "It was the first game and our first win, I'll never forget it," emphasized the ex-Frankfurt coach. Just hearing the Champions League anthem from the coaching bench was a great feeling. The result made it even better. "I'm happy for the team, for our fans and for the club."

Red after Ter-Stegen's blunder
Monaco had already beaten Barcelona 3-0 in Spain during the preparations. Now they achieved a much more important coup. "We deserved the win. Their goal came out of nowhere," summed up Monaco's coach. Of course, it played into his team's hands that Eric Garcia, who had been put under pressure by goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen with a disastrous clearance, had already been shown the red card in the 11th minute for a foul on ex-Salzburg player Takumi Minamino. "The exclusion was certainly an advantage for us, it helped us a lot," admitted Hütter.

Akliouche had already played a role at the Olympics on the way to the final with France in the summer and is now also set to play for the club. "It's quite simple, it was a magical evening," said the winger. They went into the game with a clear plan. "We knew we could cause them problems. We're happy and hope it continues in the same vein," said Akliouche. After Monaco's first CL appearance in six years, a supposedly easier task awaits on October 2 at Dinamo Zagreb.