The Poland striker barely touched the ball as the Catalans suffered a shocking 3-2 loss against previously point-less opponents
What to make of Xavi's Barcelona? Though to the last 16 of the Champions League as winners of Group H – yet beaten by Antwerp in their final fixture. It's clear that not all is well in Catalunya right now, so perhaps it shouldn't have come as such a surprise to see the Blaugrana fall behind after just two minutes of play in Belgium.
It was a shocking goal to concede, though. Inaki Pena fired a pass into Oriol Romeu's feet and he failed to control it. Arthur Vermeeren capitalised and fired the ball into the bottom corner. Ferran Torres equalised on the stroke of half-time, receiving a glorious Lamine Yamal through ball and finishing high into the net.
Antwerp again cut through Barcelona's defence in the 49th minute but Vincent Janssen's goal was promptly ruled out for offside. Yamal hit the crossbar shortly afterwards and in the ensuing counter-attack, Sergi Roberto was sent off for a poor challenge, only for VAR to intervene again, this time resulting in the colour of the card being changed from red to yellow.
Barcelona could not make the most of their reprieve, though, and Janssen restored Antwerp's lead with a fine finish after Romeu was robbed on the edge of his own box. Marc Guiu thought he had snatched a point for Barcelona in injury time, but Antwerp broke immediately, and George Ilenikhena scored to give Antwerp a famous, famous victory.
GOAL rates Barcelona's players from Bosuilstadion…
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Inaki Pena (4/10):
Horrendous pass to Romeu led to Antwerp's goal. Had no chance with Janssen's finish but his distribution left much to be desired.
Hector Fort (6/10):
Making his first-team debut. Did well at times, making a couple of excellent challenges. Subbed for Cancelo on the hour. A fine first outing.
Jules Kounde (5/10):
Could not reach Janssen in time to block his shot for Antwerp's second. Passed the ball out of defence well.
Andreas Christensen (6/10):
Seemed to struggle at times against Janssen but was hardly at fault for either goal.
Alejandro Balde (5/10):
Some smart runs up the left flank but caught short defensively more than once.
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Sergi Roberto (4/10):
Received a red card before VAR intervened and rightly recommended a yellow. His most telling influence on the game, though, as the rest of it seemed to pass him by.
Oriol Romeu (2/10):
Unlucky for Antwerp's goal, as Pena's pass was dreadful. Could have controlled it better, however, and was robbed before Janssen scored. A terrible performance. Subbed for Gundogan, unsurprisingly.
Fermin Lopez (5/10):
Passes the ball well whenever he receives it but could not impact the game in the final third. Replaced by Pedri.
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Lamine Yamal (7/10):
Sensational assist for Torres' equaliser and hit the bar at 1-1, just minutes before Antwerp took the lead. Comfortably Barcelona's most dangerous attacker.
Robert Lewandowski (2/10):
Peripheral throughout. Replaced by Marc Guiu in the 71st minute with Barcelona chasing the game, summing up his lack of threat. It is salt in the wounds that Guiu actually scored.
Ferran Torres (6/10):
Scored the equaliser with a superb finish, after getting on the end of Yamal's exceptional pass. Kept trying to make inroads but let down by Lewandowski's passivity.
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Pedri (6/10):
On for Lopez. Took the ball more than the man he replaced but just could not find a way to pick the lock.
Ilkay Gundogan (6/10):
Introduced in place of the woeful Romeu. Delivered the ball for Guiu to score the late equaliser.
Joao Cancelo (5/10):
Replaced debutant Hector Fort. One promising run ended with him diving and appealing for a penalty.
Marc Guiu (7/10):
Subbed on for Lewandowski. Scored a great header but saw his goal immediately wiped out by Antwerp in remarkable circumstances.
Marc Casado (N/A):
Only came on for Sergi Roberto late on.
Xavi (4/10):
Got this all wrong. Antwerp were on a dreadful run of six successive defeats, and this should have been a walkover. Instead, they have been beaten in the most dramatic circumstances.
