Barcelona showed their continental mettle on Wednesday, coming from behind to thrash Copenhagen 4-1 and qualify directly for the Champions League last 16. Hansi Flick’s side secured fifth place in the league phase, ensuring they bypass the nerve-wracking play-off round despite a sluggish start at the Camp Nou.
The Danish visitors stunned the Spanish champions as early as the fourth minute when 17-year-old Viktor Dadason intercepted a slack Jules Koundé pass to fire past Joan García. Barca struggled to find their rhythm in a frustrating first half, with Eric García striking the crossbar and Robert Lewandowski seeing a close-range effort thwarted by Dominik Kotarski.
However, the tide turned three minutes after the restart when Lewandowski made amends, tapping home an inch-perfect cross from Lamine Yamal. Yamal then put Barcelona ahead after the hour mark with a speculative effort from the edge of the box that took a wicked deflection off Elias Achouri before looping into the net.
The victory was made safe when Raphinha converted a clinical penalty after Lewandowski went down under minimal contact. Marcus Rashford, currently on loan from Manchester United, wrapped up the scoring with a powerful free-kick that slipped past Kotarski, marking his fifth European goal of the campaign.
“We all came here tonight thinking of finishing in the top eight; we’re very happy with the win,” Yamal told Movistar after the final whistle. While Copenhagen exit the competition in 31st place, Barcelona head into the knockout stages as one of the tournament’s most potent attacking forces.
