Perhaps the biggest reason for Barcelona’s first defeat of the season in their Champions League opener away to Monaco on Thursday was the red card given to Eric García in 10th minute of the game, after a mistake from Marc-André ter Stegen put the defender in a tough spot and forced him to take one for the team.
It also came in Eric’s first start of the season so far, in which he has played exclusively as a defensive midfielder despite being a center-back by trade. He has performed the role well in limited minutes under Hansi Flick, but was robbed of the opportunity of playing an entire match in the position on Thursday.