Slavia Prague 1-2 Barcelona: 4 Talking Points as Catalan giants register nervy victory away from home | UEFA Champions League 2019/2020

#2 Even in defeat, Slavia can hold their heads high

Slavia Praha outplayed Barcelona for most of the match

Slavia Prague are defending champions in the Czech Fortuna Liga, but despite their success domestically, they are very much regarded as minnows on the continental stage.

Proof of this lies in the fact that this is just their second participation in the Champions League and when they were pitted against three former champions in Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, and Inter Milan, their chances of qualification looked bleak, to say the least.

However, they have largely matched their more illustrious opponents stride for stride and kicked off their latest Champions League campaign with an impressive 1-1 draw with Inter at the San Siro, having led the game until a last-gasp equalizer by Nicolo Barella.

Against a Barcelona side boasting all-time greats such as Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, Slavia were expected to be blown away and when the visitors went ahead with barely three minutes gone on the clock, it looked like a drubbing could be on the cards.

The home side, however, put those thoughts in the bin, as they upped the ante and kept Barcelona on the back foot for large parts of the first half.

The Catalans found themselves hanging on for dear life in a first half that was utterly dominated by the home side and Ernesto Valverde's were extremely lucky to head into the dressing room with a half-time lead.

Nicolae Stanciu and Lukas Masopust sliced open the Barcelona defence almost at will and the Blaugrana had Marc-Andre ter Stegen to thank as he kept them in the game with no less than four fine saves in the first half alone.

The German international showed great reflexes to save with his leg when Jaroslav Zeleny had seemed certain to score, while he also pulled off two fine saves in as many minutes to keep his side's lead intact.

In total, the home side had more shots on target than Barcelona in the first half and grabbed a deserved equalizer just five minutes after the restart.

Their game total of 24 shots (nine on target) is not a mark that would be met by many teams and was much better than the 13 (seven on target managed by Barcelona) over 90 minutes, while they restricted their visitors to 'just' 54% possession.

Though they ultimately lost the game, the fans and players alike can leave with their heads held high, as their team went toe-to-toe with one of the best sides in world football.