"Barcelona's first UEFA Champions League game back the the Spotify Camp Nou last night was far from comfortable but they got the job done in the end to take three vital points. Eintracht Frankfurt arrived at the venue as one of the most defensively frail teams in Europe. Their low-block that they adopted on the night, however, frustrated Barcelona as the Germans looked only to hit on the counter-attack."
"After Barcelona's underwhelming first half, it was clear that something needed to change if the Catalans were to stand any chance against Eintracht Frankfurt last night. After all, the team barely created any threat in the opening half and looked like a shadow of themselves. Lamine Yamal was isolated for the better part of the half, Fermin Lope struggled to make any impact or runs in between the lines, while even Raphinha looked relatively off. Robert Lewandowski, moreover, was virtually absent, barring his offside goal."
"As he did multiple times last season, however, Flick showed to have an elite understanding of the situation on the field and what his side was lacking at the time as he opted to hook Fermin off and bring Marcus Rashford in his place. At first, the idea did not seem convincing for the game situation did not seem to be anything close to one where the Englishman could thrive, especially given the tight defensive lines and lack of space to run into. Rashford, however, repaid Flick's faith just minutes after coming on with a stunning cross into the box from far out. His ball was weighted to absolute perfection and fell exactly to Jules Kounde, who opened the scoring out of nothing."
Barcelona returned to the Spotify Camp Nou for a UEFA Champions League match against Eintracht Frankfurt and secured a 2-1 victory after a second-half comeback. Eintracht set up a low block and aimed to counter-attack, frustrating Barcelona despite being defensively vulnerable on paper. The visitors even took the lead, forcing Barcelona to adjust. Several attackers struggled in the opening half, including Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski. Manager Hansi Flick substituted Fermin for Marcus Rashford, whose cross led to Jules Kounde's goal. Barcelona's performance improved markedly after the break to clinch three points.
Read at Barca Universal
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