Fermin Lopez brace leads Barca to win at Slavia Prague

Fermin Lopez’s first-half brace and second-half goals by Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski earned Barcelona a 4-2 Champions League win at Slavia Prague on Wednesday.

The result keeps Barca in contention for a top-eight finish in the league phase, which guarantees direct passage to the last 16.

The Catalans face Copenhagen at home in their final league phase game next week.

“I’m happy that we came back and the team played really good and I also think at the end we deserved the points,” Barca coach Hansi Flick told reporters.

“We didn’t start well in this Champions League, but at the end we still have the chance to reach the (top) eight and this is what we want, because then we’ll have two games less,” he added.

Barca got back to winning ways on a freezing night in Prague after Sunday’s La Liga loss at Real Sociedad ended a run of 11 successive victories.

Reigning Czech champions Slavia, returning from a winter break, had previously only managed three draws and two goals in the Champions League this season.

But they took the lead on 10 minutes as striker Vasil Kusej forced the ball across the goal line at the far post after Tomas Holes’s glancing header from a corner.

Lopez pulled Barca level in the 34th minute following a pass from skipper Frenkie de Jong that found him unmarked in the box.

He then gave the Catalans the lead eight minutes later with a low shot that caught Slavia goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek unprepared.

But Slavia drew level just before half-time as Lewandowski deflected a corner into Joan Garcia’s net.

Olmo spared Barca blushes as he blasted superbly into the top corner in the 63rd minute, three minutes after replacing Pedri who had limped off the pitch.

And Lewandowski found the right net on 71 minutes when he slotted home from close range from a Marcus Rashford pass.

 

‘Tough game’

“We knew it would be a tough game because of the cold, the pitch, they put the pressure on you really well here and it got tricky after their goal,” Lopez told Movistar.

“We wanted to keep a clean sheet but it was tricky. Still, the most important thing is the victory, and we won by two, and now on to the next match.”

Flick was without the suspended Lamine Yamal and striker Ferran Torres due to a muscle injury.

He said he expected another difficult game against Copenhagen. Yamal will return for that match but Torres and Pedri are in doubt and De Jong is ruled out after picking up a yellow card in Prague.

“But at the end it’s like that, we have to manage it and we have the chance to reach the (top) eight. And this is our goal,” the German coach said.

The game in Prague started with a minute’s silence for the victims of Sunday’s train crash in Spain that left 43 dead.

Slavia were eliminated after a fourth loss in seven European outings left them third-bottom in the standings.

Marcus Rashford — another second-half substitute — went on a blistering run down the left flank and delivered a cross into the box. Although Lewandowski initially struggled to control the pass, he reacted quickly to poke the ball past Stanek and give Barcelona a two-goal cushion.

“We knew it would be a difficult match with the cold weather, they’ve put a lot of pressure on us, it was tough… my feet and hands hurt, can barely feel them… It was tough, but we managed to come back and win,” Lopez told Movistar Plus.

“We were aware that goal difference was something important looking to secure a top-eight finish, we wanted to keep a clean sheet but it was difficult. Good thing we managed to play well and got the win.”