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Barcelona were forced to come from behind on three separate occasions to secure a 3-3 draw against a spirited Club Brugge side in a pulsating Champions League encounter in Belgium on Wednesday night.
Teenager Lamine Yamal produced a standout performance as Hansi Flick’s team avoided a damaging defeat but once again highlighted their recent defensive frailties.
Carlos Forbs was the tormentor-in-chief for the hosts, scoring twice and setting up Nicolo Tresoldi as Brugge repeatedly cut through Barcelona’s high line.
Ferran Torres and Yamal were both on target for the Spanish visitors before a deflected effort from Christos Tzolis brought them level late on.
Barcelona arrived with confidence still fragile following inconsistent league form, including a demoralising defeat to Real Madrid in the Clasico. That vulnerability was soon exposed at the Jan Breydel Stadium as Forbs raced behind the Barça defence and squared for Tresoldi to finish early on.
Torres quickly restored parity with a clever strike after being played through by Fermin Lopez, and the midfielder later rattled the woodwork during a frantic spell in which both sides looked intent on attacking. Forbs then struck again, breezing into space created by a slick exchange with Tzolis before guiding the ball beyond Wojciech Szczesny.
Barcelona continued to create opportunities, with Jules Kounde hitting the bar and Yamal setting up Torres for a chance that was narrowly put wide just before half-time.
The second half brought more chaos; Szczesny was forced into action to deny Joaquin Seys, while Eric Garcia became the third Barcelona player to be denied by the frame of the goal.
A moment of brilliance brought Barça level again when Lopez produced a superb backheel into Yamal’s stride, the 17-year-old finishing coolly into the far corner.
But Forbs was far from done, and when Hans Vanaken slipped him through, he clipped a delightful finish over Szczesny to restore Brugge’s lead.
The home side were awarded a penalty moments later when Forbs went down under pressure from Alejandro Balde, but VAR intervened to correctly judge that the Brugge winger initiated the contact. Yamal then curled in an effort that deflected off Tzolis and left goalkeeper Nordin Jackers helpless as Barcelona levelled for a third time.
Stoppage time brought one final scare: Szczesny was robbed by substitute Romeo Vermant, who rolled the ball home, only for VAR to rule the challenge a foul. Barcelona escaped, but the sense of relief was mixed with reflection.
Defensive lapses remain a pressing concern for Flick’s side, who avoided calamity but let Brugge expose them all too often.
“We must improve,” stressed defender Eric Garcia afterwards. “With just a few passes, they were creating danger — that cannot continue.”
