Barcelona held 3-3 by Brugge after defensive woes

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.

Barcelona pushed desperately for a second equaliser but failed to break down Brugge’s organised defence. The closest they came was in the 27th minute when Jules Koundé’s powerful effort struck the crossbar—Barca’s only concrete chance before halftime.

The visitors finished the first half with 79 percent possession and nine attempts, but only two on target. Meanwhile, Club Brugge produced four shots—every one of them on goal.

The first five minutes after the restart saw an even contest, with both teams trading attacking moves. Ten minutes into the second half, Barcelona created two dangerous chances, both of which were blocked by the hosts. Just before the hour mark, Eric García almost levelled the score with a long-range strike, only to be denied by the crossbar again.

Two minutes later, Barcelona finally made it 2-2 thanks to a spectacular solo effort from Lamine Yamal. But the defensive meltdown continued, as Barca failed to keep the score level for even two minutes. Forbs completed his brace in the 63rd minute, punishing Barcelona from yet another counter-attack and putting Brugge 3-2 ahead.

In the 77th minute, Yamal produced another brilliant run, and a Brugge defender inadvertently headed the youngster’s shot into his own net as the Catalans equalised for the third time.

In the first minute of stoppage time, Brugge found the net again, capitalizing this time on a mistake from Szczęsny. However, the goal was ruled out after a touchline VAR check, keeping Barcelona alive. Flick’s men pushed for a winner, but the Belgian defense held firm, and the match ended in a 3-3 draw.

With the result, Barcelona now have 7 points from four matches with two wins and a draw. They sit 11th in the table, while Club Brugge are on 22nd position with four points from the same number of games.

In other matches of the night, Manchester City cruised past Borussia Dortmund 4-1, while Newcastle United defeated Athletic Club 2-0.

Two Italian clubs—Inter Milan and Atalanta—secured narrow victories, 2-1 against Kairat Almaty and 1-0 against Marseille respectively, reports UNB. 

Bayer Leverkusen claimed their first win, beating Benfica 1-0 away, while Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw by Qarabag FK.