Slavia Prague 1-2 Barcelona: 4 Players who impressed for the Blaugrana | UEFA Champions League 2019/2020

Barcelona consolidated their position atop Group F with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Slavia Prague at the Sinobo Stadium in the Champions League.

A third-minute strike by Lionel Messi as well as an own goal by Peter Olayinka 12 minutes into the second half were enough to give the Catalans the victory, while Jan Boril had briefly restored parity in the 50th minute.

Given the difference in the quality of both sides, Barcelona were largely expected to walk over their less illustrious hosts, but in unexpected scenes, the Czech champions gave as good as they got and can consider themselves unlucky not to have gotten something from the match.

While some players like Sergio Busquets and Antoine Griezmann did not impress in the game, others rose up to the occasion and played a key role in helping Barcelona to victory against Slavia Prague.

In this piece, we shall be highlighting four players who impressed in the Champions League matchday 3 fixture.

#4 Luis Suarez

Although he failed to end his run of having not scored an away goal in the Champions League since September 2015, Luis Suarez still played a major role in helping Barcelona to victory against Slavia Prague.

The 32-year-old was full of energy in the game and showed his usual brilliant understanding with Lionel Messi on some occasions and should have converted in the 70th minute when he was played in by his Argentine teammate.

The former Liverpool man, however, had a hand in Barcelona's second goal as he showed great technique to control a Lionel Messi cross from an acute angle, before shooting into the back of the net.

The goal was however credited as an own goal as it had gone in off a deflection by Peter Olayinka.

In total, Luis Suarez attempted five shots, with two of those being on target while he also made two key passes and completed two dribbles.

#3 Arthur

Arthur supplied the assist for Messi's opener

The arrival of Frenkie de Jong at Barcelona over the summer made many believe that Arthur would see reduced game time this season.

However, despite starting the campaign on the periphery of the squad, the Brazilian international has played his way back into first-team reckoning with several solid displays.

Against Slavia, the 22-year-old was deployed on the left of a midfield three also containing Frenkie de Jong and Sergio Busquets and he was arguably the most impressive of the trio.

It took less than three minutes for him to make a mark in the game, setting Lionel Messi up beautifully for the game's opener and was nothing short of excellent from then on.

In what was a chaotic first half for Barcelona, Arthur helped restore calm after the restart, with his passing and ball retention abilities helping the Catalans get a grip of the game after Slavia had outplayed them in the early stages.

He was substituted for Ivan Rakitic with six minutes remaining and with his display, you can be sure that Arthur would remain a regular in the Barcelona starting lineup for the foreseeable future.

#2 Marc-Andre Ter Stegen

Ter Stegen made seven saves against Slavis

Goalkeepers rarely get rave reviews and when they do, it is mostly for the wrong reasons, especially at a club like Barcelona whose possession-based playing pattern ensures that their goalkeepers rarely get tested.

However, despite this, Ter Stegen has played his way into being considered one of the best goalkeepers of his generation, with his handling, ball distribution and quick reflexes ranking high among the apex in the world.

All three characteristics were brought to the fore against Slavia, as the Czech champions proved to be more than a match for their visitors and can genuinely consider themselves unlucky not to have picked up at least a point.

That Barcelona won this game against Slavia Prague was largely down to the heroics of Marc Andre ter Stegen who was nothing short of spectacular between the sticks at the Sinobo stadium.

In a first half that was dominated by Slavia, the home side continuously cut through the Barcelona defense like a knife through butter, but always found an imposing block in the form of Barcelona's 27-year-old shot-stopper.

His first big save came in the 21st minute when he used his legs to stop a certain goal by Jaroslav Zelony despite heading in the wrong direction.

Even better double saves followed soon after, as he showed great reflexes to first keep out Lukas Masopust with a low dive before stretching to tip Peter Olayinka's shot over the bar when most of the 20,000 fans inside the stadium thought the ball would end up in the back of the net.

In total, the former Borussia Monchengladbach man made seven saves and despite the presence of illustrious forwards like Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Antoine Griezmann, Marc-Andre ter Stegen made a solid case to have been considered the man-of-the-match.

#1 Lionel Messi

Messi opened the scoring for Barcelona

Barcelona struggled massively in Lionel Messi's absence due to injury earlier in the season and with his performance against Slavia, it is easy to see why.

Within three minutes of the game, the Rosario native had put Barcelona ahead with a characteristically cool finish, while writing his name into the record books as the first player to score in 15 consecutive Champions League seasons.

Although it was far from a vintage display by the 32-year-old, this can be forgiven given that he only recently returned from an injury layoff.

Messi also had a hand in the winning goal, supplying the pin-point cross from a freekick that Luis Suarez turned into the back of the net and he would have had another assist after playing in the Uruguayan one-on-one with the goalkeeper, only for him to shoot wide.

Messi also missed a gilt-edged chance late in the game, but had three shots on target, made four key passes and completed 10 dribbles in what was another five-star performance from the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.