USMNT striker Folarin Balogun comes off bench as Monaco overcome Lamine Yamal and 10-man Barcelona in Champions League opener

U.S. men's national team star Folarin Balogun came off the bench in Monaco's 2-1 Champions League triumph over 10-man Barcelona.

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• Balogun comes off bench
• Barca man down for 80 minutes
• Monaco win 2-1

• AFP
  

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  U.S. international Folarin Balogun came off the bench to contribute to AS Monaco's upset over heavily-favored Barcelona in their Champions League opener at the Stade Louis II.

  Barcelona were up against it from the opening minutes as defender Eric Garcia was sent off with a straight red card just 10 minutes into Thursday's action. Monaco pounced 16 minutes later on a goal from rising star Maghnes Akliouche, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead. It lasted just 12 minutes, though, before Lamine Yamal scored a stunner to bring Barca level.

  Monaco, though, wouldn't be denied. After Balogun came on as part of a fleet of second-half subs, Monaco took the lead in the 71st on a goal from George Ilenikhena. Balogun then seemingly played his part in sealing the result by drawing a penalty, but, after a VAR check, the decision was reversed.

  Fortunately for Monaco, they wouldn't need it as they held off their 10-man opponents.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Balogun has found minutes hard to come by this season as he hasn't been a focal point of the Monaco attack. Instead, Breel Embolo has primarily been the starter, as he was on Thursday.

  In total, Balogun had played just 160 minutes in Ligue 1 as well as a 90-minute runout in the Trofeo Joan Gamper exhibition before Thursday's match.

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  This is Balogun's first-ever appearance in the Champions League.

  He went into the season after a somewhat solid summer, despite the USMNT's Copa America crashout. Balogun scored twice at this summer's tournament, netting against both Bolivia and Panama in the group stage.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR BALOGUN?

  With the three Champions League points now in the bag, Balogun and Monaco will look ahead to a return to Ligue 1 as they host Le Havre on Sunday.