Barcelona shook off subzero temperatures, an early shock and a costly own goal to rally past Slavia Prague 4-2 on Wednesday, a gritty Champions League comeback that kept the Catalan club firmly in the hunt for a top-eight finish.
The challenge was clear from the opening whistle. In freezing conditions that dipped to minus eight Celsius, Slavia Prague fed off the hostile atmosphere and caught Barcelona cold with an early breakthrough.
A cleverly choreographed corner in the 10th minute saw Tomas Holes flick the ball across the six-yard box, where Vasil Kusej muscled his way through Frenkie de Jong to force the ball over the line.
Barcelona struggled initially to impose their passing rhythm, with Slavia pressing aggressively and disrupting buildup play.
But as possession tilted, Fermin Lopez began to assert himself between the lines, offering movement and incision where Barcelona had lacked urgency.
The equalizer arrived in the 34th minute.
Lopez darted into the right channel and unleashed a sharp, angled drive that squeezed past goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek at the near post after a slight deflection. It was a goal born of confidence, and it altered the match's tempo.
Eight minutes later, Lopez struck again.
Given space at the edge of the box, the attacking midfielder measured his shot with composure, curling it low into the bottom-right corner to put Barcelona ahead and briefly silence the home crowd.
That advantage, however, proved fragile.
Under renewed pressure from another Slavia corner just before halftime, Lewandowski inadvertently glanced the ball off his shoulder and into his own net, a rare misfortune that sent the teams into the break level at 2-2 and reset the contest.
Barcelona responded with authority after halftime. The visitors tightened their defensive structure, pushed higher up the pitch and began to overwhelm Slavia with sustained pressure. Raphinha flashed wide, Pedri tested Stanek from distance, and Lopez nearly completed a hat trick as Barcelona probed relentlessly.
The breakthrough came in the 64th minute through Dani Olmo, introduced to add control and creativity. The substitute wasted no time, collecting the ball at the edge of the box and blasting an unstoppable shot into the top corner, a strike that finally cracked Slavia’s resistance.
Lewandowski completed his redemption six minutes later. Marcus Rashford, another second-half substitute, surged down the left flank and whipped in a dangerous cross. Lewandowski initially miscontrolled it but reacted sharply, stabbing the ball past Stanek to restore a two-goal cushion and put the result beyond doubt.
“We knew it would be a difficult match, the cold, the pressure, everything,” Lopez said afterward. “It was tough physically, but we stayed calm, kept playing our game and got the result.”
The win lifted Barcelona to ninth place on 13 points, level with seven other teams scrambling for a top-eight finish and direct qualification to the round of 16. Slavia, despite their spirited display, remain third from bottom with just three points.
Lewandowski’s goal also carried historic significance. At 37, the Poland striker has now scored in the Champions League in 15 consecutive seasons and across 16 straight calendar years. With 114 goals in UEFA competitions, he remains third on the all-time scoring list, trailing only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Elsewhere in the competition, Premier League teams continued to assert their dominance.
Arsenal and Bayern Munich secured early qualification, while wins for Liverpool, Newcastle and Chelsea pushed them into automatic qualifying positions.
With only three points separating third place from 15th, the league phase heads toward a dramatic final round where margins remain razor-thin.
