“I feel bad for him” – Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen gives explanation of Eric Garcia red card

Barcelona captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen was in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons during their defeat to AS Monaco, with many blaming him for Eric Garcia‘s red card after just 11 minutes. Ter Stegen explained afterwards that he felt bad that Garcia was sent off.

“We didn’t understand each other well in that situation, I feel bad for Eric, that it hurts him. And we played 80 minutes with one less. We didn’t understand each other,” ter Stegen explained, saying they were both at fault.

“Something happened that shouldn’t happen to anyone. This is part of football. The defeat hurts, because with 10 on the pitch we showed our face and tried to get a point,” he told MD.

The incident certainly changed the game, and just minutes later, Magnes Akliouche drove into the Barcelona box and fired the opener unchallenged. Ter Stegen’s pass certainly put Garcia under pressure, and the majority seem to believe that his error was fully responsible. Javi Roldan has made the case that Garcia pulled out of his offer for the ball, when the move was to sprint and then give off a first-time pass.

Ter Stegen reasoned that Monaco’s goal was not merited based on the game in the second half.

“We knew they were going to press. We wanted to be compact and it worked quite well for us to a certain point, but they scored a goal against us without much play,”

“We showed our faces. And the second goal came at a moment when it was not deserved. Ultimately, you are left with the bad taste in your mouth, having not gained any points.”

The Blaugrana may have lost their first match, but still stand to qualify for the next round. However anything but a win in their next Champions League clash against Young Boys at home would heap pressure on their following tie against Bayern Munich at Montjuic. Certainly ter Stegen is coming under increasing scrutiny from the Barcelona fanbase, with another four years left on his contract.