Pique nicks late win to keep Barca ahead of City
It's advantage Barcelona in Group C after Gerard Pique’s second half goal gave them all three points at Borrusia Park.
They were desperate not to slip up in Germany because they were convinced Manchester City would see off Celtic and they didn’t want to go into the two teams' double header trailing their former coach Pep Guardiola’s new side.
For long spells they struggled but in the end it was a win-win for Luis Enrique’s team as they came from behind to beat Borrusia Monchengladbach and went in at the end of the game to find City had slipped up at Celtic Park.
“We were much better in the second half and in the end we deserved the win,” said goalscorer Pique who had been their best player on a night when Barça looked anything but themselves, right down to the pastelgreen third strip they were wearing for the first time.
Things might have taken a turn for the worst for Pique after just two minutes when the ball struck him on the arm in the area and only referee Damir Skomina, failing to spot the error, saved him.
Monchengladbach had Chelsea’s 20-year-old loanee centre-back Andreas Christensen up against Luis Suarez and the Uruguayan tested him from the start losing him on 10 minutes but sending his shot well wide of Yann Sommer’s goal. Barcelona keeper Marc Andre ter Stegen had received a huge ovation from the home fans before the game but on 34 minutes he conceded against his old side.
Sergio Busquets was disposessed in midfield by Rafael and when the forward released Thorgan Hazard he put the Germans ahead.
Suarez missed a late first half chance volleying an Ivan Rakitic pass straight at the goalkeeper and Borrusia Park greeted the half time whistle with a huge roar – the job was half done.
The trouble was they had only scored once and there was little chance Barcelona would be as poor in the second 45 minutes as in the first period. On the 50-minute mark Rafinha came on for Alcacer and Barcelona abandoned a 4-4-2 formation that had fallen down on Neymar’s inability to work the space at the top of a midfield diamond in the same way the absent Leo Messi does.
Luis Enrique sought further remedy from the bench when Arda Turan came on for Ivan Rakitic and the Turkish international changed the game.
Neymar played a teasing pass just beyond Monchengladbach’s defensive line and although Suarez was offside Turan had stayed the right side of the last defender and he smashed his shot into the roof of Sommer’s net.
If Sommer was faultless for the first goal he was all at sea for the winner on 74 minutes. Neymar’s corner dropped to Suarez and his well-struck shot was fumbled by the Swiss keeper. Pique was in the right place to edge the ball away from the recovering keeper and send if over the line.
“They took their chance in the first half but we improved after the break and found more space,” said Luis Enrique. He can now look forward to his meeting with Guardiola and Barça go into the game looking down on their rivals in Group C.