Club Brugge
Barcelona held 3-3 by Club Brugge after another defensive nightmare
Barcelona dominated possession by 76 percent and produced 23 attempts, but spent almost the entire match chasing equalizers as a defensive nightmare sank the Catalans in Belgium. Hansi Flick’s men dropped points again, this time in a 3-3 draw against a promising Club Brugge side.
It was a match where the Blaugrana could easily have returned home with a big win, but their recurring defensive woes haunted them from the opening whistle to the last minute. In fact, they could have lost the match 4-3 had Brugge’s stoppage-time goal not been ruled out.
The home side started brightly, taking the lead in the 6th minute after creating a couple of early chances. On their third attempt, Carlos Forbs initiated a counter-attack and squared the ball to Nicolo Tresoldi in front of Barca’s box. The 21-year-old Italy-born German international slotted the ball under Wojciech Szczęsny to give Brugge the opening goal.
However, the visitors wasted no time in responding, as Ferran Torres equalised just two minutes later. Fermín López carried the attack through the right channel and delivered a delicious low cross across the six-yard box. The Spanish forward made no mistake in connecting and finding the net.
After the quick exchange of goals, Barca took complete control of the match and began to pile pressure on the Brugge defence. Fermín nearly put the visitors ahead in the 11th minute, but his long-range shot struck the outside of the left post and bounced away.
Despite Barcelona’s dominance, it was the home team who struck again, capitalising on another counter-attack in the 17th minute. Barcelona’s defensive line was pushed too high, allowing Christos Tzolis to break from midfield on a solo run. The winger squared the ball to Forbs, who beat Szczęsny without facing any challenge to restore Brugge’s lead.
29 days ago