Casado 6, Yamal 8.5 | Club Brugge 3-3 Barcelona: Player ratings | OneFootball

Barcelona did not bring their best version to Belgium last night when they faced Club Brugge on Matchday four of the UEFA Champions League.

Despite the opponents initially being expected to be one of Barcelona’s easier opponents in the league phase, they gave the Catalans a run for their money and put serious pressure on them throughout the night.

Club Brugge exploited the high line and flawed offside trap deployed by Hansi Flick’s side and created devastating counter-attacking chances – taking the lead three times on the night.

Barcelona, however, found the equaliser all three times despite their defensive horror show and ensured to avoid a defeat. In the end, however, they did drop two points and luckily so after a late blunder by Wojciech Szczesny was forgiven by VAR.

Barça Universal brings you the player ratings from Club Brugge 3-3 Barcelona.

Wojciech Szczesny: 7

The goalkeeper cannot be blamed for the goals conceded again given how exposed he was left by the high defensive line and the offside trap and how every lethal opposition counter trickled into a 1v1 situation.

Did well with some routine saves to keep the team in the game and prevent the situation from getting worse for the Catalans. Almost bottled the game in extra-time with a massive blunder but was lucky to have VAR rule it out.

Alejandro Balde: 6.5

Balde was defensively disappointing. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

The left-back did well in attack, pushing high up and connecting well with Marcus Rashford to provide dynamism on the wing. Defensively, however, he was asked serious questions by the hosts’ rapid counter-attacks and did not have any convincing response.

Was at fault for the third goal conceded as he failed to maintain his line, was caught ball watching, and could not recover back in time.

Eric Garcia: 6.5

The Spaniard continued to spearhead Barcelona’s buildup play from the back and did well with his distribution and passing range.

However, he struggled to keep up with the opposition’s pace and was helpless in defending against counterattacks.

Ronald Araujo: 6

Despite looking convincing in his previous outing and partnership with Garcia, Araujo was not as dominant against Club Brugge last night.

Even his pace was not enough to keep up with the devastating counter-attack that pioneered the hosts’ second goal and he could have been more involved in direct defensive actions.

Jules Kounde: 5.5

The Frenchman misplayed the offside trap for Club Brugge’s opener and played the attacker onside in a situation where the trap should have caught him and continued to look largely uninspired on the night.

He was sluggish to track back and far from his best, although he did come close to scoring when he hit the crossbar from a tight angle late in the first half.

Marc Casado: 6

Casado was decent in retaining possession and circulating the ball but again failed to provide the press-resistance, dynamism, and control that the Catalans needed in midfield.

Further, he struggled to defend against Club Brugge’s lethal counter-attacks and failed to provide any protection from the deep midfield on that front. Overall, his involvement was limited and far from what Flick would expect from him.

Frenkie de Jong: 7.5

The Dutchman provided Barcelona’s primary stabilising and controlling force in midfield and did well to dictate the flow of the game when the Catalans were in possession.

He did slow down the game to an extent and was not as effective as he is alongside Pedri, but he looked to push higher up to compensate for the lack of creativity.

Fermin Lopez: 7.5

The youngster earned the assist for Ferran Torres’ equaliser and did well to menace the hosts’ defence on the night.

Could well have had a goal to his name in the first half had it not been for the woodwork.

Lamine Yamal: 8.5

A tale of two halves for the youngster. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Yamal again looked relatively distanced from the proceedings and his improvement against Elche all seemed to come undone as he looked uncomfortable and relatively uninvolved in the opening half.

Did thread a lovely ball late in the first half that Torres should have finished, and came up with a moment of individual brilliance to make his way through the hosts’ defence and score the team’s second goal on the night.

His second-half performance was far better, and he even forced the own-goal that eventually served as Barcelona’s third equaliser against the Belgian giants.

Marcus Rashford: 7

The Englishman constantly looked to overlap on the flank with Balde and make searing runs between the lines to break free.

While the plan did work on occasion, not many translated into goalscoring situations.

Ferran Torres: 7.5

The Spanish forward scored Barcelona’s opening goal off a Fermin Lopez assist but missed a sitter later in the half when Yamal set him free on goal.

Did not have much to show barring the opening strike.