Barca’s guillotine escapes — three times through goals, fourth with ref

Club Brugge and Barcelona played arguably the best match of the fourth round of the Champions League, which ended, perhaps most fairly, in a 3–3 draw.

At Jan Breydel Stadium on Wednesday, six goals were scored, with the spotlight firmly on Club Brugge winger Carlos Forbes. The 21-year-old Portuguese attacker tormented Barcelona’s defense throughout the 90 minutes, finishing the match with two goals and one assist. It’s clear that he has a bright future ahead if he continues to perform at this level. The game in Bruges brought excitement from the very start.

In the 6th minute, the home side opened the scoring. Barcelona were pressing, but suddenly Brugge struck on a counterattack. Forbes outran the defenders and delivered a cross from the right into the heart of the box, finding Nikolai Tresoldi, who finished superbly from close range, beating Wojciech Szczesny in one move. The goal is HERE!

The joy for the home fans was short-lived, as Barcelona equalized just two minutes later. Hansi Flick’s side mirrored the way they had conceded the first goal: they won possession, transitioned quickly into attack, and from the right, Fermin Lopes delivered a cross into the box, which Ferran Torres neatly finished to make it 1–1. The goal is HERE!

Club Brugge regained the lead in the 17th minute, with Forbes scoring after an assist. Barcelona had taken a corner, but the Belgian side cleared successfully and launched another deadly counterattack that Forbes converted, putting the home side ahead once more. The goal is HERE!

After Brugge’s second goal, chances continued to come at both ends, but the scores remained unchanged for a while. The scoreboard finally moved again in the 61st minute, as Barcelona equalized once more through Lamine Yamal. A prolonged attack ended with the young Barca star racing toward goal, assisted by Lopes, who flicked the ball forward with his heel. Yamal finished past Brugge goalkeeper Nordin Jackers to make it 2–2. The goal is HERE!

Just three minutes later, Forbes returned to the spotlight, giving Brugge the lead again. The Portuguese attacker broke free from Barcelona’s defense once more, and after Hans Vanaken set him up one-on-one with Szczesny, Forbes calmly slotted the ball behind the goalkeeper. The goal is HERE!

Barcelona, however, refused to give up even after falling behind for the third time, and their perseverance was rewarded. In the 77th minute, Yamal crossed from the right, but Brugge forward Christos Colos inadvertently headed the ball into his own net, leveling the score at 3–3. The goal is HERE!

The drama almost continued in the first minute of stoppage time, when Romeo Vermant found the net for Brugge. However, the goal was disallowed after referee Anthony Taylor consulted the VAR. Upon review, it was determined that Vermant had fouled Szczesny in the build-up, leaving the final score at 3–3.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 4

Tuesday

Napoli - Eintracht Frankfurt 0-0

Slavia Prague - Arsenal 0-3 (0-1)

/Saka 32 pen, Merino 46, 68/

Atletico Madrid - St. Gilloise 3-1 (1-0)

/Alvarez 39, Gallagher 72, Llorente 90+6 - Sykes 80/

Bodo/Glimt - Monaco 0-1 (0-1)

/Balogun 43/

Juventus - Sporting Lisbon 1-1 (1-1)

/Vlahovic 34 - Araujo 12/

Liverpool - Real Madrid 1-0 (0-0)

/Mac Allister 61/

Olympiacos - PSV 1-1 (1-0)

/Martins 17 - Pepi 90+3/

PSG - Bayern Munich 1-2 (0-2)

/Neves 74 - Diaz 4, 32/

Tottenham - Copenhagen 4-0 (1-0)

/Johnson 19, Odobert 51, Van de Ven 64, Palhinha 67/

Wednesday

Paphos - Villareal 1-0 (0-0)

/Luckassen 46/

Qarabag - Chelsea 2-2 (2-1)

/Andrade 29, Jankovic 39 pen - Estevao 16, Garnacho 52/

Ajax - Galatasaray 0-3 (0-0)

/Osimhen 59, 66 pen, 78 pen/

Benfica - Leverkusen 0-1 (0-0)

/Schick 65/

Club Brugge - Barcelona 3-3 (2-1)

/Tresoldi 6, Forbs 17, 63 - Torres 8, Yamal 61, Tzolis 77 (og)/

Inter - Kairat Almaty 2-1 (1-0)

/Martinez 45, Augusto 67 - Arad 55/

Man. City - Dortmund 4-1 (2-0)

/Foden 22, 57, Haaland 29, Cherki 90+1 - Anton 72/

Newcastle - Ath. Bilbao 2-0 (1-0)

/Burn 11, Joelinton 49/

Olympique Marseille - Atalanta 0-1 (0-0)

/Samardzic 89/