Catalan side were behind at the break but scored four second-half goals to seal an impressive victory
Barcelona secured a 4-1 win over Copenhagen to shoot up to fifth in the Champions League table.
It means they avoid the two extra games of a playoff and instead head into the last 16 proper. But after starting the night in ninth place, and then going down to a fourth-minute strike from Copenhagen’s 17-year-old Viktor Dadason, things were far from looking pleasant.
Barcelona peppered Copenhagen’s goal but ended the first half still behind, meaning they had just 45 minutes to turn things around. But the Catalan side have generally been much better in second halves this season, and after a team talk by Flick and some restrategising, they came back out and scored four goals to seal a brilliant victory.
Flick said after the game: “In the first half I wasn’t happy with our performance. The second half was much better. The dynamic, the intensity and the pressing were much better.”
Forward Marcus Rashford, who scored the fourth from a freekick with five minutes of normal time to go, was asked what the manager told the players at the break.
“The manager motivated us and told us that if we play at the level we can, then it would be difficult to stop us,” Rashford said. “And then from the start of the whistle in the second half we had improvements, and we scored four goals so it is perfect.”
Flick was thrilled his side secured a spot in the top eight after starting very poorly in Europe this season, with defeats against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea standing out.
“Of course we are happy that we finished in the fifth place,” said Flick. “It’s great. We now have two fewer matches.
“The fact that big teams have been eliminated shows how tough the competition is, although I focus exclusively on my own team.
“The way we started the competition was not great, but the last two games changed a lot in the table, so I am really satisfied about it.”
