Barcelona have secured an automatic spot in the Champions League Round of 16 thanks to a 4-1 win over Copenhagen in Wednesday’s league phase finale at Camp Nou. After a dreadful first half in which they
conceded early and played very poorly the Blaugrana came alive in the final period, dominating the game and scoring enough goals to boost their goal difference and clinch fifth place in the standings at the end of a wild night of action around Europe.
Reactions & Observations
- The game started the worst possible way for Barça, but it was also very predictable: Copenhagen played a through ball in between the Blaugrana center-backs to beat the offside trap, and Dadason was all alone with Joan Garcia and scored the opener. It was the type of goal Barça always concede in Europe, and it was extremely frustrating to watch.
- What was even more frustrating, however, was the Catalans’ attempt at an answer: Barça were very poor in possession, lacking any creativity and real threat in the final third to try and find spaces against a Copenhagen side that parked the bus and played a 5-4-1 formation designed entirely to not concede. Barça were slow and safe with their passing, and resorted to one cross after another that never troubled the opposition.
- The only two big chances came first on a mistake by the Copenhagen defense that resulted in Robert Lewandowski missing a very easy one-on-one with the keeper, and a rocket by Eric Garcia from outside the box that hit the crossbar. Outside of that, the Blaugrana never created any real danger, and were way too busy complaining to the referee instead of trying to find answers to get back in the game.
- Things looked pretty grim at halftime, with Barça conceding a very dumb goal and not showing any real signs that they had what it took to complete a second half comeback.
- Hansi Flick worked his magic at the break with not only his team talk but a substitution as Marc Bernal replaced Eric Garcia at the base of midfield. Bernal was more aggressive with his passing and the entire team was much more willing to take risks, and Barça were very, very good to start the second half.
- A sensational through ball by Dani Olmo that ended in a Lamine Yamal assist for a Lewandowski tap-in got things started, and Yamal’s deflected shot that went over the keeper’s head and into the net gave them the lead at the hour mark. Lewandowski was then fouled inside the box and Raphinha scored from the penalty spot, and Barça had a two-goal lead with 20 minutes to go.
- The three goals were certainly the major story, but the attacking performance was a joy to watch: gone was the safe and boring passing from the first half, and we saw a team that actually wanted to play and score goals and suffocated Copenhagen with their pressing and intensity off the ball.
- There was still time for another goal as Marcus Rashford came off the bench and scored a nice free-kick, and Barça got some help from VAR which denied a late goal from Copenhagen and kept Barça’s goal differential at +8, which helped them clinch fifth place.
- This was ultimately a very good and deserved victory with a second half performance that made up for a truly dreadful first half, and Barça have successfully avoided the drama and the extra minutes of the Playoff path. There’s still plenty of improvement needed to be a real contender in the knockout rounds, but what matters is they got the job done tonight.
