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Barcelona took a major step towards qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League as a well-taken goal by Lionel Messi and a Peter Olayinka own goal was enough to give them a narrow 2-1 victory away from home over a resilient Slavia Prague side.
In what was his second start of the campaign in the tournament, Lionel Messi needed just three minutes to open his account when he put Barcelona ahead with a calm right-footed after being teed up by Arthur.
Left-Back Jan Boril drew the hosts level in the 50th minute after a brilliant run forward, but just seven minutes later, the Blaugrana found themselves ahead once again when Luis Suarez showed great technique to convert from an acute angle although his strike was aided by a massive deflection.
With the victory, Barcelona move onto seven points and in this piece, we shall be highlighting three talking points from the Champions League fixture.
#4 Barcelona in prime position to qualify for the knockout rounds
Barcelona were one of the seeded teams during the Champions League draws and upon conclusion of the process in Monaco, the Catalans were pitted against Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, and Slavia Prague.
In the eyes of many, this was classified as the group of death and rightly so, as Inter and Dortmund are just a cadre beneath the elite teams and can trouble any side on their day.
The Catalans began their campaign with a goalless draw away to Dortmund, as Marco Reus' penalty miss came back to haunt the home side. While it was hardly the worst result in the world, things could have gotten a lot more severe in Germany.
A comeback 2-1 victory was recorded over Inter on matchday 2 at the Camp Nou and with the Italians locking horns with Dortmund in a doubleheader, the onus was on Barcelona to deliver the goods against Slavia.
Although not entirely convincing, they ultimately did enough to get all three points and move to the top of the table; three points clear of second-placed Inter.
Ernesto Valverde's men would heavily fancy their chances of getting maximum points against Slavia in the reverse fixture and with Inter and Dortmund set to lock horns once again, Barcelona are primed to make it through to the knockout stages.
With two home fixtures left, barring a capitulation of extreme proportions, Barcelona would top their Champions League group for a record-extending 13th consecutive season, while also qualifying from the group stage for a 16th straight campaign.
#3 Luis Suarez' wait for a Champions League away goal continues
While it is unarguable that Luis Suarez is one of the greatest centre-forwards in the history of the game, his output in recent years has been a cause of major concern.
This is particularly true on the continent where the 32-year-old has massively struggled in front of goal, while his all-round gameplay has also appeared laborious on occasions.
The Uruguayan international went over eight games and 838 minutes without a goal in the Champions League before netting in the 3-0 victory over Liverpool in the semifinal last season and also scored a brace in the 2-1 win against Inter Milan last time out.
However, both those matches were at home and having failed to find the back of the net against Slavia Prague, it means that Suarez has continued a woeful personal record in the Champions League.
It might be hard to believe, but the former Liverpool man is without an away goal in the Champions League since scoring against AS Roma in September 2015. This is a run encompassing 15 matches in over four years, while he has also attempted 59 shots to no avail.
Against Slavia, he spurned numerous chances to break his jinx, chief of which was when he inexplicably drew wide after being played in by Lionel Messi midway through the second half.
Although he did put the ball into the back of the net in the 57th minute, replays showed that his shot had gone in off a deflection from Nigerian international Peter Olayinka and the strike was adjudged to be an own-goal.
Suarez will have to wait for at least another month to break his goalscoring duck away from home in Europe, as Barcelona travel to Germany to take on Borussia Dortmund in November.
The Catalans are desperate to get their hands on the Champions League and if they are to do so, Suarez would have to find a cure to his away-day blues in Europe.
#2 Even in defeat, Slavia can hold their heads high
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.
#1 Lionel Messi into the record books once again
Lionel Messi's greatness means that eyelids are rarely batted when he sets a new record, with this being the norm rather than the exception almost every other matchday.
Despite only returning to full fitness recently, the Argentine started the game against the Czech side, marking the first time he would come up against Slavia Prague and unexpectedly, he got his name in the record books once more.
Prior to the clash with Slavia, Lionel Messi had come up against 38 different clubs in the Champions League and had failed to score against just six of those, with Atlético Madrid Benfica, Inter Milan, Rubin Kazan, Dortmund, and Udinese amongst the team that have successfully managed to shutout the Barcelona legend.
The Czech side, therefore, became the 39th team he faced and it took him less than three minutes to make a mark in the game and set yet another record in football's biggest club competition.
With the goal, it means he has now drawn level with Real Madrid legends Cristiano Ronaldo and Raul to score against 33 different clubs in the Champions League and the reverse fixture against Inter and Dortmund would afford him the opportunity to have the record all to himself.
Furthermore, he set a new record as he became the first player to score in 15 consecutive Champions League seasons, having remarkably scored at least one goal in every UCL campaign since he made his debut in the competition in the 2004.
