George Ilenikhena scores on his Champions League debut as Monaco stun 10-man Barcelona

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WRAP: Monaco players celebrate after defeating 10-man Barcelona. Picture: AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani

George Ilenikhena scored on his Champions League debut as Monaco produced an upset to beat 10-man Barcelona 2-1.

The 18-year-old substitute raced on to Vanderson's long ball over the top of the defence in the 71st minute and blasted his shot past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Eric Garcia had earlier been shown a straight red card with just 10 minutes gone when he fouled Takumi Minamino as the last man after a poor pass out from the back by Ter Stegen.

Monaco took the lead soon after when Maghnes Akliouche slotted past Ter Stegen who was rooted to the spot.

Barcelona's own teenage star Lamine Yamal equalised with his first Champions League goal when he latched on to a long ball and cut inside before drilling a low shot into the bottom corner.

A fortuitous goal from winger Kerem Akturkoglu and a superb free-kick by his Turkish compatriot Orkun Kokcu earned Benfica a 2-1 victory at Red Star Belgrade in their Champions League encounter on Thursday.

Akturkoglu opened the scoring for the Portuguese side in the ninth minute, converting a cross at the far post from close range.

Kokcu then doubled the advantage a minute before the half-hour mark with a meticulously placed free-kick curl from around 25 metres, finding the net just inside the top right corner.

Red Star reduced the deficit when Felicio Milson was played through and scored from close range four minutes before time, but they were unable to find an equaliser.

Meanwhile, Germany’s 'Invincibles' Bayer Leverkusen opened their Champions League campaign with a resounding 4-0 away win over Feyenoord on Thursday, after running riot in the first half.

Florian Wirtz scored two, while Alejandro Grimaldo also got on the scoresheet and there was an own goal as Leverkusen were 4-0 up at halftime with the home side jeered off the pitch by their own supporters.

It proved a sobering start to their Champions League campaign for Feyenoord, Dutch league runners-up last season but struggling to find form since the departure of coach Arne Slot for Liverpool.

Leverkusen thoroughly outplayed them in the first 45 minutes and then competently dealt with an attempted home comeback after the break.

Leverkusen, who became the first team to finish a Bundesliga season unbeaten as they romped to the title last campaign, were ahead in the opening five minutes as Wirtz took advantage of a defensive slip by Ramiz Zerrouki to open their account.

Meanwhile, Brest’s first-ever goal in European competition was scored at home but far away from its own stadium on Thursday.

Midfielder Hugo Magnetti’s half-volley from 20 meters out flew into the bottom right corner in the 23rd minute against Austrian team Sturm Graz in the revamped Champions League.

Quite how many fans in the stadium were Brest fans is uncertain, since the match was not actually held in the quaint Brittany port city.

That’s because Brest’s stadium did not meet UEFA’s requirements and so the club’s European home games were re-located to Guingamp’s Stade de Roudourou — located roughly 114 kilometers (71 miles) away.

With only 5,000 of Brest’s 15,200 seats at Stade Francis-Le Blé stadium meeting UEFA standards, European soccer’s governing body approved the 19,000-seat Roudourou.

Brest’s European debut in any competition came after coach Eric Roy led his team to a remarkable third-place finish in the French league last season, despite a small budget.

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

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

Red Star reduced the deficit when Felício Milson was played through and scored from close range four minutes before time, but they were unable to find an equaliser.