Barcelona made a disappointing start to their Champions League campaign by losing 2-1 to Monaco after suffering an early setback with the dismissal of Eric García.

García was shown a red card after eleven minutes for a foul on AS Monaco’s Takumi Minamino, who was left in a clear position in front of goal after a wrong pass from Marc-André ter Stegen, the visitors’ goalkeeper.

Five minutes later the home side took the lead when Maghnes Akliouche fired a low shot into the net, but Lamine Yamal equalised in the 28th minute with a strike from the edge of the penalty area.

Monaco kept pressing and were rewarded in the 71st minute when substitute George Ilenikhena slotted past Ter Stegen to secure victory, their first appearance on the main stage in five years in Europe’s elite club competition.

Bayer Leverkusen started their Champions League campaign with a resounding 4-0 victory over Feyenoordwhich erupted in the first half. Florian Wirtz scored two, while Alejandro Grimaldo also scored and there was an own goal from Feyenoord goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther, while the home team were booed off the field by their own fans during half-time.

Leverkusen led inside the first five minutes when Wirtz capitalized on a defensive lapse from Ramiz Zerrouki. Jeremie Frimpong then set up the next two goals with his strong run down the right flank. The first was for Grimaldo in the 30th minute with some help from a clever no-look pass from Victor Boniface and the next was a precise cross to the far post from which Wirtz flew in unopposed to score in the 36th minute.

Leverkusen went four points ahead at half-time. A free kick found central defender Edmond Tapsoba at the far post, while his header back into the danger zone hit Wellenreuther on the foot and slowly rebounded over the line for an own goal.

Although the home side showed more spirit and energy in the second half, they rarely threatened to score. Leverkusen came close to a fifth goal as the game entered injury time, with David Hancko clearing Aleix García off the line.

A late header from defender José María Giménez secured Atletico Madrid a 2-1 victory over RB Leipzigdespite the visitors surprisingly taking the lead in the fourth minute thanks to a header from Benjamin Sesko after a quick counter-attack.

In the 28th minute, Antoine Griezmann fired a beautiful shot into the top corner, the equalizer and Atlético dominated with 20 attempts on goal. However, it took until the 90th minute for the winning goal to come, when Giménez headed in a cross from Griezmann.

Chest won their first ever match in a European competition, goals from Hugo Magnetti and Abdallah Sima secured a 2-1 victory over Storm Graz in Brittany.

Magnetti scored Brest’s first European goal in the 23rd minute, expertly controlling the ball on his chest before volleying into the bottom corner to break the deadlock. However, Sturm Graz equalised just before half-time when Brest’s Edimilson Fernandes unintentionally slotted the ball into his own net.

Brest adopted a more aggressive approach after the break and they were rewarded when Sima restored the French side’s advantage by expertly evading his marker to score with his left foot in the 56th minute. With the match nearing its end, Sturm Graz were reduced to 10 men when Dimitri Lavalee was shown his second yellow card for a tackle on Magnetti.

Elsewhere, a fortunate goal from winger Kerem Akturkoglu and a superb free-kick from his Turkish compatriot Orkun Kokcu secured victory. Benfica a 2-1 victory over Red Star Belgrade.

Akturkoglu opened the scoring for the Portuguese side in the ninth minute, converting a cross from close range at the far post. Kökcü doubled the lead a minute before the half-hour mark with a carefully placed free kick from around 25 yards out, which found the net just inside the top right corner.

Red Star reduced the deficit further when Felício Milson scored from close range four minutes before the end, but the equalizer was no longer in the cards.