The tactic of scoring one more goal than the opponent also works for Barça at the moment to maintain their aspirations in the Champions League. The Blaugrana traveled to Prague with the expectation of scoring as many goals as possible to aspire to be part of the eight best teams in the Champions League. They scored four, which is a lot in the opposite field, and more in Europe when they also couldn’t play Lamine. They never counted, however, those who would fit and, vulnerable as they are by nature, they took up to two, the same ones that Slavia had scored in the six games played in Europe.
2
Jindrich Stanek, David Zima, Stepán Chaloupek, Oscar Dorley, Tomás Holes (David Doudera, min. 45), Michal Sadílek, David Moses (Tomás Vlcek, min. 45), Vasil Kusej (Mojmír Chytil, min. 78), Youssoupha Sanyang (Muhammed Cham, min. 71), Tomás Chory (Ivan Schranz, min. 64) and Lukás Provod
4
Joan García, Jules Koundé, Eric García, Alejandro Balde (Ronald Araujo, Min. 78), Gerard Martín, jong Freef, Fermmin crops (Marc Bernal, min. 60) y Robert Lewandowski
Goals
1-0 min. 9: Vasil Kusej. 1-1 min. 33: Fermin. 1-2 min. 41: Fermin. 2-2 min. 43: Lewandowski. 2-3 min. 62: Dani Olmo. 2-4 min. 69: Lewandowski
Referee Chris Kavanagh
yellow cards
Frenkie De Jong (min. 86)
The goals received left Barcelona in evidence. It was enough for the Czechs with two corner kicks finished off at the near post to embarrass Flick’s containment system. The Barça concessions allowed Slavia to survive until Pedri was injured. The painful withdrawal of the Tenerife native was surprisingly followed by Barcelona’s definitive comeback, the eighth of the season, in a dizzying match if you look at the game and the score: 1-0, 1-2, 2-2 and 2-4. The accounts more or less add up for now for Barça, ninth in the table, in the same way that doubts remain about its status as a candidate to win the Champions League, reiterated in its concessions if we remember the 3-3 against Bruges. and eight consecutive outings still served to win in Prague and return eagerly to the Camp Nou waiting for the final match against FC Copenhagen.
Although interest was focused on Barcelona’s attacking play, the match began with a goal from Slavia. A poorly defended corner, the Barça defense frightened by the physical power of the Czechs, ended with a very baroque play on the goal line by Joan García. The ball came in cradled by Kusej’s feet. The giant Chory dominated his duels with Gerard Martín, starter ahead of Cubarsí, and the play of Pedri and Fermín barely flowed due to the individual marks set by Trpisovski. The ball did not reach Roony, much less Lewandowski, and on the contrary it traveled hard and fast through the Barcelona field. Flick’s team stood still since Fermín missed a shot against Stanek at the beginning of the match. Although they had not competed since last December 13, when the winter break left them as the leader of the League with seven points more than Sparta, Slavia played with a lot of energy, superior in the divided balls, very attentive to the repeated Barça losses and direct in their transitions towards Joan García. Barça’s football was not flowing and no player was capable of giving continuity to the game due to Moses’ blocking Pedri. The blaugrana rushed forward, increasingly impatient, and indulged in an exchange of blows that only interested the brave Slavia, very comfortable with the freezing cold of the Eden Arena.
In the absence of space, Barcelona found a way out and depth through Eric. The center back appeared in the midfield and began to associate with the midfielders and Raphinha. The Brazilian received from the center back, enabled De Jong with a touch and the Dutchman’s pass at the moment when Slavia’s push had subsided. The midfielder also made it 1-2 when he finished off a ball touched by Pedri from outside the area. The advantage, however, did not last long because the Barcelona fans once again gave away a goal from a corner kick headed by Chaloupek and touched by Lewandowski’s shoulder.
The interest that the undetectable Fermín placed in victory contrasted with the defensive sloppiness of Flick’s team. The Andalusian interior found help in De Jong after a goal disallowed for offside by Lewandowski. Pedri’s injury will have more impact in the short and long term than in the Prague clash, as soon as he took the field, he hit a beautiful shot that made it 2-3. Even though the back-and-forth outweighed control, the game no longer escaped Barça, who finished off the task with a goal from Lewandowski when Slavia had already run out.
The victory was a great relief for a team that in a demanding moment reaffirmed its scoring capacity and its defensive vulnerability, a very dangerous combination in Europe.
