Barcelona's perfect start to the season hit by early red card in the Champions League

MONACO (AP) — Barcelona's perfect start to the season hit its first stumbling block when defender Eric Garcia was sent off after just 11 minutes at Monaco in the revamped Champions League on Thursday.

Garcia pulled back Takumi Minamino when the Japan forward intercepted a panicky pass out from Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen.

Barca won its first five league games in the Spanish league under new coach Hansi Flick but saw Monaco take the lead in the 16th through midfielder Maghnes Akliouche.

Akliouche, who represented France at the Paris Olympics, scored from the right side of the penalty area with national team coach Didier Deschamps watching.

Deschamps was not the only well-known face in the crowd at Stade Louis II. Basketball great Michael Jordan was there, too.

Jordan watched teenage superstar Lamine Yamal equalize for Barca in the 28th with a fine left-footed strike from the edge of the penalty area.

It was his fourth goal of the season but the first of the European Championship-winning Spain forward's career in the Champions League.

According to UEFA, Yamal became the second-youngest scorer in Champions League history at 17 years and 68 days — just 28 days older than teammate Ansu Fati when he netted against Inter Milan in December 2019.

In July, Yamal became the youngest player ever to score at a Euro when he netted a stunning goal in Spain’s semifinal victory over France.

Fati, meanwhile, recovered from a foot injury to figure in Flick’s squad.

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American former professional basketball player Michael Jordan, center, gestures as he poses for a selfie while attend the start of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Monaco and Barcelona at the Louis II stadium, in Monaco, Monaco, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, left, controls the ball past Monaco's Vanderson during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Monaco and Barcelona at the Louis II stadium, in Monaco, Monaco, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

American former professional basketball player Michael Jordan, center, gestures as he attends the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Monaco and Barcelona at the Louis II stadium, in Monaco, Monaco, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

American former professional basketball player Michael Jordan, center, gestures as he poses for a selfie while attend the start of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Monaco and Barcelona at the Louis II stadium, in Monaco, Monaco, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Monaco's Maghnes Akliouche, third left, celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Monaco and Barcelona at the Louis II stadium, in Monaco, Monaco, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The extended family of Erik and Lyle Menendez will advocate for the brothers' release from prison during a news conference set for Wednesday in downtown Los Angeles as prosecutors review new evidence to determine whether they should be serving life sentences for killing their parents.

Billed as “a powerful show of unity” by more than a dozen family members — including the brothers' aunt — who are traveling across the country to Los Angeles, the news conference will take place less than two weeks after LA County District Attorney George Gascón announced his office was looking at the brothers' case again.

Erik Menendez, now 53, and his 56-year-old brother, Lyle Menendez, are currently incarcerated in state prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion more than 35 years ago.

Lyle Menendez, who was then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, admitted they fatally shot-gunned their entertainment executive father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez, in 1989 but said they feared their parents were about to kill them to prevent the disclosure of the father’s long-term sexual molestation of Erik.

The extended family’s attorney Bryan Freedman previously said they strongly support the brothers’ release. Comedian Rosie O’Donnell also plans to join the family on Wednesday.

“She wishes nothing more than for them to be released,” Freedman said earlier this month of Joan VanderMolen, Kitty Menendez’s sister and the brothers' aunt.

Earlier this month, Gascón said there is no question the brothers committed the 1989 murders, but his office will be reviewing new evidence and will make a decision on whether a resentencing is warranted in the notorious case that captured national attention.

The brothers’ attorneys said the family believed from the beginning they should have been charged with manslaughter rather than murder. Manslaughter was not an option for the jury during the second trial that ultimately led to the brothers’ murder conviction, attorney Mark Geragos previously said.

The case has gained new traction in recent weeks after Netflix began streaming the true-crime drama “ Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. ”

The new evidence includes a letter written by Erik Menendez that his attorneys say corroborates the allegations that he was sexually abused by his father. A hearing was scheduled for Nov. 29.

Prosecutors at the time contended there was no evidence of any molestation. They said the sons were after their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate.

But the brothers have said they killed their parents out of self-defense after enduring a lifetime of physical, emotional and sexual abuse from them. Their attorneys argue that because of society’s changing views on sexual abuse, that the brothers may not have been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole today.

Jurors in 1996 rejected a death sentence in favor of life without parole.

Attorney Mark Geragos informs the media on developments on the case of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, both serving life sentences for the murder of their parents in 1989, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jaimie Ding)

FILE - Lyle Menendez looks up during testimony in his and brother Erik's retrial for the shotgun slayings of their parents, Oct. 20, 1995 in Los Angeles. (Steve Grayson/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Erik Menendez, center, listens to his attorney Leslie Abramson, as his brother Lyle looks on in a Beverly Hills, California, May 17, 1991. (AP Photo/Julie Markes, File)

FILE - An Oct. 31, 2016, photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Erik Menendez, left, and a Feb. 22, 2018 photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Lyle Menendez. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP, File )

Menendez brothers' family to push for their release as prosecutors review 1989 case

Menendez brothers' family to push for their release as prosecutors review 1989 case

FILE - Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez sit with defense attorney Leslie Abramson, right, in Beverly Hills Municipal Court during a hearing, Nov. 26, 1990. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)