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It was a very spirited game in Prague as Barcelona overcame a vibrant Slavia Prague challenge. The Blaugrana came into the Champions League matchup as overwhelming favourites and they took control of proceedings early on as Lionel Messi won the ball deep in Slavia territory, before starting a swift attacking manoeuvre which saw him at the end of Arthur Melo's pass in the box. The Argentine then knocked the ball past Ondrej Kolar from close range.
Barcelona were expected to dominate proceedings thereafter. However, the Czech champions refused to go down without a fight. They took the battle to Barca and in the 50th minute, their industry was rewarded thanks to a finish from left-back Jan Boril.
However, eight minutes later, Luis Suarez was wheeling away in celebration as his shot from close range deflected off Peter Olayinka's shoulder and into the net.
At the end of the day, Slavia dominated proceedings with a staggering 24 shots to Barca's 13, and the Blaugrana needed the golden touch of Marc-Andre ter Stegen to keep them afloat on a couple of occasions.
In this article, we analyse the performances of a few players in the encounter.
#5 Petr Sevcik - Poor
He had a pretty decent game, however, his blunder early on in the encounter set the tone for his side's painful defeat at the hands of Barcelona.
In the 3rd minute of the game, he did the one thing they probably warn you not to do in defensive school: give the ball away to Messi.
Sevcik tried to play a poor pass out of his defensive area and cheaply gave the ball away to the legendary Argentinean who had a quick one-two with Arthur before deftly stabbing the ball home for the game's opener.
#4 Luis Suarez - Impressed
The Uruguayan hitman continues to chase a Champions League goal away from home as he hasn't scored for the Blaugrana on the road in over 30 hours of football. However, Luis Suarez was excellent in this encounter as he gave the Slavia Prague defenders something to worry about all evening.
His most significant contribution came in the 57th minute of play as he was on the end of a Messi freekick, popping a shot at Kolar's goal from close range. The ball deflected wickedly off Olayinka's shoulder for the winning goal of the night and Suarez wheeled away in celebration amidst probably a hint of frustration that it didn't go in cleanly.
The former Liverpool forward had a total of 5 shots, with 2 on target in the encounter.
#3 Jan Boril - Impressed
On a night where the Czech champions had to step up their game, Boril was one of the standout performers for Jindrich Trpisovsky's side.
The left-back was a thorn in the Blaugrana's side as he ventured forward on many occasions, boasting of the joint highest shots of any Slavia player in the encounter. He had 3 shots in the match with 1 on target. He also had the most touches for his side with 84 touches and 3 key passes.
His most telling contribution came in the second half as he pulled his side level after 5 minutes. Nicolae Stanciu played a beautiful ball to Lukas Masopust from deep, and the flowing move ended with a pass to Boril who stabbed his shot beyond the reach of ter Stegen.
#2 Marc-Andre Ter Stegen - Impressed
Marc-Andre ter Stegen is touted as the best goalkeeper in the world by many and he's certainly giving Germany's Joachim Low a selection dilemma at the heart of Die Mannschaft's defence.
Ter Stegen was at his best once again in this encounter, thwarting many incursions into the Blaugrana's defensive area. In the 20th minute, he denied Jaroslav Zeleny a gilt-edged opportunity via a somewhat unorthodox save, blocking the shot with his foot.
Later on in the encounter, he was once again at the height of his powers, denying the duo of Masopust and Olayinka in quick succession. He first collected a potentially dangerous Masopust shot from close range with ease, then he defied gravity to tip Olayinka's ferocious shot over the bar, a few seconds later in the 37th minute of play.
#1 Lionel Messi - Impressed
The Blaugrana captain is certainly a man on a mission as he leads Barcelona's charge to the top of the Champions League mountain. Lionel Messi was at his best as always, bobbing & weaving his way past a chorus of crunching tackles and a sea of bloodthirsty markers.
Early on in the encounter, he got things off to a wonderful start for Barca as he collected a loose Sevcik pass from deep within opposition territory, played a quick one-two with Arthur and then deftly placed the ball beyond the reach of Kolar in the 3rd minute.
Later on, he turned provider as his free-kick snaked its way towards Suarez who struck a shot from close range which took a wicked deflection and nestled in the back of the net.
With his goal in the encounter, Messi has now scored in 15 consecutive Champions League seasons, a world record. Slavia Prague also became the 33rd team to have conceded against the Argentine, a joint-record with the legendary Raul Gonzalez and a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.
