Ter Stegen Stands up After Barcelona's Defeat
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen stated on Thursday that his team "faced up" with ten players after Eric García's expulsion in the 11th minute against Monaco, but he lamented the final defeat (2-1) in their Champions League opener.
"We didn't understand each other well (with Eric) in that situation. I feel bad for him because it puts him in a tough spot. We had to play 80 minutes with one less player. It's something that shouldn't have happened. These are things in football. The defeat hurts because we faced up with ten players," said the German goalkeeper.
In statements to Movistar+ from the pitch at the Luis II Stadium in Monaco, Ter Stegen asserted that Barça tried to "get at least a point" in the second half and remarked that Monaco's second goal was "undeserved at that moment" in the match, as it came "without much play," from a long ball.
"After the break, we knew they were going to push harder because they had one more player than us. We wanted to close the spaces well, and to some extent, it worked quite well," stated the Barcelona goalkeeper, who concluded that Barça will aim to "win the next home match."