Messi leads Barcelona, Lampard hails Pulisic
PRAGUE (Reuters) – A quick-fire strike from Lionel Messi and a second half own-goal gave Barcelona a 2-1 win over Slavia Prague in a thrilling Champions League Group F encounter late Wednesday night in a match where both sides spurned multiple chances.
Barcelona swarmed forward from the kick off, keeping Slavia bottled up in its own end and denying them possession.
The Catalans took the lead in the third minute when Messi forced a turnover before feeding the ball to Arthur, who returned it for the Argentine to slip past the goalkeeper.
The goal made Messi the first player in Champions League history to score at least once in 15 consecutive seasons in the competition.
The hosts had three gilt-edge chances but were denied by Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, whose saves included a sprawling effort where he dove one way but used his foot to clear a Jaroslav Zeleny.
The home side, pushed on by a roaring crowd, kept its foot on the pedal after the break and deservedly leveled in the 50th minute when Lukas Masopust held off a defender before threading a pass to Jan Boril, who made no mistake in front of goal.
Barcelona, harried all night by a hard-running Slavia side, reclaimed the advantage in the 57th minute when a Luis Suarez shot from a tight angle bounced off Peter Olayinka and into the net.
Slavia continued to push forward, but despite a number of efforts inside the box could not breach a stubborn Barcelona backline that defended in numbers and blocked several last-gasp shots.
The win put Barcelona top of Group F with seven points from three games while Slavia is bottom with one point. Elsewhere, Inter Milan beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 and both teams are on four points in the group.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic was left out of the squad entirely when it beat Lille in the Champions League earlier this month, but the 21-year-old’s career sprang to life against Ajax Amsterdam on Wednesday.
The forward joined Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of around 64 million euros ($71 million) in the close-season to become the most expensive American player in history but has struggled for minutes, making only three Premier League starts.
Pulisic gave manager Frank Lampard a timely reminder of his talent by setting up fellow substitute Michy Batshuayi to score the winner against last year’s semifinalist Ajax at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
“Sometimes the toughest part of management is leaving out players that really want to play week-in, week-out. You rely on them being positive and coming on to make an impact,” Lampard told reporters.
“You have to give Christian huge credit because he looked so lively and the assist is just as important as the finish.”