Royal Antwerp defeated Barcelona in Champions League Night

December 14, 2023
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Royal Antwerp defeated Barcelona 3-2 in Belgium on Wednesday in the Champions League.

Royal Antwerp defeated Barcelona in Champions League Night

The 17-year-old Marc Guiu’s equalization in the 91st minute gave the La Liga champions hope after they had come back from behind twice in the Group H match.

However, Antwerp took the lead for the third time less than a minute later, thanks to their own 17-year-old substitute, George Ilenikhena, who secured the home side’s famous victory.

With three points, Antwerp finished last in Group H, while Barcelona won the group despite the loss, finishing ahead of Porto on the head-to-head record.

The hosts got off to a fast start, with Arthur Vermeeren scoring in the second minute.

Barcelona were in disarray, with Oriol Romeu failing to find a teammate with a pass after Inaki Pena had played the ball into him, and Vermeeren was on hand to fire into the back of the net, sparking jubilant scenes inside the stadium.

After smart work from Ritchie de Laet, who broke into a wide area before finding Vincent Janssen with a cross, the hosts had another chance in the 10th minute, but the striker could only fire into the hands of Pena.

Barcelona struggled for much of the first period, but Torres leveled the scores in the 35th minute, collecting a clever pass from Lamine Yamal before finishing into the back of the net.

It was harsh on Antwerp, who were far superior in the first 45 minutes, with Vermeeren demonstrating why he is one of the most sought-after young players in the world.

Barcelona’s equalizer was their only shot on goal in the first period, but they dominated possession, with Antwerp’s best work coming on the counter-attack.

Fermin Lopez had a half-chance early in the second half, but his effort kept rising over the Antwerp crossbar.

Royal Antwerp captured thriller win against the 5 Time European Champion

Antwerp thought they had taken the lead again in the 50th minute when Janssen converted after an excellent pass from Vermeeren, but the offside flag was raised before Yamal struck the post for Barcelona shortly after.

Sergi Roberto was shown a straight red card in the 53rd minute for a late challenge on Mandela Keita, but the referee reduced it to a yellow after a VAR recommendation.

However, Barcelona conceded a second goal in the 56th minute, thanks to another error by Romeu, who gave possession to Alhassan Yusuf; the ball was then fed into Janssen, who found the bottom corner to make it 2-1 to the hosts.

Xavi responded to the setback by bringing three players off the bench, replacing Romeu, Hector Fort, and Fermin Lopez with Ilkay Gundogan, Joao Cancelo, and Pedri.

Robert Lewandowski was then substituted in the 72nd minute. Guiu replaced him, and Barcelona was closing in on the title.

Cancelo was impressive, but he missed the target in the 74th minute after good work from Yamal, who was easily Barcelona’s most inventive forward on the night.

Torres and Alejandro Balde both had attempts blocked in the 82nd minute, before Jules Kounde forced Antwerp goalkeeper Jean Butez into a save in the 86th minute with a long-range strike.

Barcelona did equalize in the 91st minute, with Guiu scoring his first Champions League goal, heading a cross from Gundogan into the back of the net, seemingly securing a point for the visitors.

Royal Antwerp, on the other hand, did not stop there, scoring a third goal in the 92nd minute through Ilenikhena, who raced onto a pass from Jelle Bataille before finishing past Pena to secure all three points for the hosts.

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