- In a Champions League match on Wednesday in Belgium, Royal Antwerp defeated Barcelona 3-2 with a goal in the 92nd minute.
- Despite the loss, Barcelona led Group H and ended ahead of Porto on the head-to-head record, while Antwerp finished last in Group H with three points.
In a Champions League match on Wednesday in Belgium, Royal Antwerp defeated Barcelona 3-2 with a goal in the 92nd minute.
In the Group H match, the La Liga winners rallied from behind twice, and in the 91st minute, 17-year-old Marc Guiu made it 2-2, giving them a chance to share the victory.
But less than a minute later, Antwerp’s 17-year-old substitute, George Ilenikhena, gave the home team a memorable victory when they took the lead for the third time.
Despite the loss, Barcelona led Group H and ended ahead of Porto on the head-to-head record, while Antwerp finished last in Group H with three points.
Very highly regarded Arthur Vermeeren opened the score in the second minute, giving the home team the ideal start to the match.
Vermeeren opened the scoring for the hosts early in the game. Photo/ Sporting News
Barcelona saw it as a complete disaster, with Vermeeren on hand to score a goal into the net and set off joyous celebrations inside the stadium, and Oriol Romeu failing to locate a teammate with a pass after Inaki Pena had sent the ball into him.
After some deft play in the 10th minute by Ritchie de Laet, who burst into a wide area and found Vincent Janssen with a cross, the hosts had another opportunity, but the striker was only able to shoot into Pena’s palms.
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After struggling for much of the first half, Barcelona finally tied the score in the 35th minute when Torres finished into the net after receiving a deft ball from Lamine Yamal.
Antwerp was certainly the superior team in the first forty-five minutes, and Vermeeren showed why he is one of the most sought-after young players in international football. It was cruel to them.
Even though Barcelona’s equalizer was their only effort on goal in the first half, they controlled the ball well, and much of Antwerp’s impressive play came on the counterattack.
Early in the second half, Fermin Lopez had a half-chance, but his shot kept going past the Antwerp crossbar.
After the half, Barcelona tried to equalize again, but Mark van Bommel’s team stood their ground, taking the punches and hitting back at their opponents with equal vigor.
After a great pass from Vermeeren, Janssen scored to give Antwerp the lead again in the 50th minute, but the offside flag was waved before Yamal struck the post for Barcelona a little while later.
Lamine Yamal was by far Barcelona’s most creative forward that evening. Photo/ Barcelona
After a late challenge on Mandela Keita in the 53rd minute, Sergi Roberto was given a straight red card; however, the referee overturned the decision and gave him a yellow card on the advice of VAR.
However, Barcelona let up another goal in the 56th minute when Romeu gave up the ball to Alhassan Yusuf. Janssen then passed the ball into the bottom corner, giving the home team a 2-1 lead.
In response to the defeat, Xavi substituted Romeu, Hector Fort, and Fermin Lopez with Ilkay Gundogan, Joao Cancelo, and Pedri, three players from the bench.
When Guiu replaced Robert Lewandowski in the 72nd minute, Barcelona was making inroads near the end of the match.
Cancelo was impressive, and in the 74th minute, he failed to score despite some clever play from Yamal, who was by far Barcelona’s most creative forward that evening.
In the 82nd and 86th minutes, respectively, Torres and Alejandro Balde had efforts blocked, and in the 86th, Jules Kounde pushed Antwerp goalkeeper Jean Butez into a save with a long-range strike.
In the ninetieth minute, Barcelona managed to tie the score. Guiu scored his first goal in the Champions League, heading a cross from Gundogan into the net and clinching a draw for the visitors.
The Belgian team, however, was far from done as they scored a third goal in the 92nd minute via Ilenikhena. The young player raced onto a ball from Jelle Bataille and finished past Pena to give the hosts a thrilling three-point victory.
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