Barcelona rescue draw at Club Brugge in six-goal Champions League thriller

Barcelona rescue draw at Club Brugge in six-goal Champions League thriller

Lamine Yamal, a teenager who was at his best for Hansi Flick’s side, came from behind three times to earn a 3-3 draw at Club Brugge in the Champions League to earn a point in a gripping encounter in Belgium.

The hosts repeatedly shredded Barca’s defense on Wednesday, with winger Carlos Forbs scoring twice and setting up Nicolo Tresoldi with one.

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Despite having several players out injured, Ferran Torres, Yamal, and a Christos Tzolis own goal saved Barcelona from what would have been a humiliating defeat.

In recent weeks, Barcelona have struggled, including a La Liga defeat at Clasico by rival Real Madrid.

Tresoldi, who was set up by the energetic Forbs, gave the hosts a first-half lead at the Jan Breydel Stadium.

With Forbs attacking Barcelona’s top defensive line in full swing, Brugge laid the groundwork for how they could consistently defeat Catalans.

Torres, who had Fermin Lopez play him in, quickly gave Flick’s side a heads-up, and he did so with a clever finish.

In a never-ending battle between two sides determined to attack, Lopez’s midfielder hit the woodwork before Forbs netted Brugge’s second.

The Portuguese international scored a one-two with Tzolis to force a second-half spacebender in front of Barca’s defense before passing Wojciech Szczesny with speed.

As the semifinalists of last year’s competition sought a leveller, Barca defender Jules Kounde crashed a shot against the bar at the other end.

After some recent poor displays, Yamal, who was once again the key player for his side, had a good chance to score before the break, but the striker nudged the ball past goalkeeper Nordin Jackers and headed wide.

As Brugge continued to attack in the second half, showing no desire to defend their lead, Szczesny made a good save from Joaquin Seys at the near post.

Eric Garcia hit the crossbar with a nearly long range effort, but Eric Garcia was only the third Barca player to do so.

Barcelona eventually won the game with a brilliant goal thanks to Yamal’s superb combination with Lopez.

The teenager’s path was blocked by Lopez’s backheeled ball, which Yamal then flicked past Jackers and into the bottom corner.

After scoring the equalizing goal at 2-2, Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez celebrate [Photo by Nicolas Tucat/AFP]

Forbs wasted a good chance to give his team another lead before taking a commanding finish just a few minutes later.

On goal, Hans Vanaken delicately dinked past Szczesny for his second and Brugge’s third.

After colliding with Barca’s Alejandro Balde in the box, Forbs received a penalty, but it was voided after a VAR review revealed he had actually struck the Spaniard.

A Yamal effort was superbly saved by Jackers, who could only stop Barca’s equalizer, which came in a similar fashion.

Yamal beat the goalkeeper with his curling effort from the right, which deflected off Tzolis’ head.

When veteran goalkeeper Szczesny attempted to turn in his area before losing the ball as Romeo Vermant slid in on him in stoppage time, Brugges believed they had won.

After it was determined that the Belgian forward had fouled Szczesny, Vermant rolled the ball into the empty net.

Erling Haaland scored against his former club on Wednesday in the Champions League as his Manchester City thrashed Borussia Dortmund 4-1.

Victor Osimhen’s hat-trick helped Galatasaray defeat hapless Ajax 3-1 in the second half.

In the previous gameday, Bayer Leverkusen defeated Benfica 1-0 to win the match, which was 7-2 to titleholder Paris Saint-Germain.

With a 2-1 victory over Kairat Almty, Inter Milan moved to four wins in a row. Only Inter, Arsenal, and Bayern Munich are the only teams to have won all of their Champions League games so far this season.

Source: Aljazeera

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