Barcelona avoid blip in Prague to maintain Champions League top eight hope

On a chilly night in the Champions League, Barcelona came from behind to beat Slavia Prague 4-2. Fermin Lopez scored twice, Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski added two goals in the second half to secure the victory.

With just 13 points remaining, Barcelona moves up to ninth place in the standings after winning on Wednesday, which is in line with seven other teams that are battling for top-eight spots and direct qualification for the round of 16. With only three points, Slavia languishes third from the bottom.

Slavia stunned the visitors with an early lead on a bitterly cold evening in Prague, with temperatures dropping to -8 degrees Celsius (17.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

Vasil Kusej bundled the ball across the line under pressure from Frenkie de Jong’s” cross in the 10th minute after being cleverly positioned in a corner to send it from the near to the far post.

After a deflection off the Slovak’s shoulder, Lopez squeezed the ball past keeper Jindrich Stanek at the near post to give Barcelona the lead in the 34th minute with a sharp, angled strike from inside the box.

In the 42nd minute, Lopez added another goal with a superb effort from the edge of the box to give Barcelona the lead. Stanek had no chance, as the attacking midfielder precision found the bottom right corner.

Slavia equalized after Barca’s only two-minute advantage was caused by an unfortunate defensive error. Lewandowski unintentionally deflected the ball into his own net while being held to a corner while defending the corner, putting the score at 2-2.

After resuming play at the break, Barcelona relentlessly attacked Slavia’s defense in the second half.

Before substitute Olmo created a magical moment, Raphinha, Pedri, and Lopez wasted numerous opportunities. He hammered an unstoppable shot into the top corner of the 64th minute to resurrect Barcelona’s lead in emphatic fashion from the box’s edge.

In the 70th minute, Lewandowski made up for his earlier own goal by winning.

Another second-half substitute, Marcus Rashford, launched a blistering run down the left flank and headed a cross into the box. Lewandowski quickly reacted after Stanek and Lewandowski initially struggled to control the pass and gave Barcelona a two-goal lead.

Our team put a lot of pressure on us because of the cold, but we were able to win, Lopez said to Movistar Plus. “We knew it would be a difficult match with the cold, but they put a lot of pressure on us. It was tough. My feet and hands hurt, I can barely feel them.