Barcelona beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2–1 at Camp Nou and stretched the unlikely run of comebacks that has defined the Hansi Flick era, with Jules Koundé stepping into a role no one saw coming. The fullback, criticized for recent defensive lapses, settled the match with two headed goals early in the second half, securing three crucial points and a win that says a lot about where the club stands right now.
The German lead that exposed an anxious Barcelona
Barça came out pressing, keeping the ball and pinning Eintracht back from the opening minutes. Koundé pushed forward often on the right, linking up well with Lamine Yamal, and the sequence that ended with Lewandowski’s disallowed goal felt like a sign that Barcelona had full control. But possession didn’t turn into an advantage. The German back line held firm and, even with nearly 80 percent of the ball, it was Eintracht that struck first. A fast break left Knauff in a great spot to finish past Joan Garcia, quieting Camp Nou for a few moments.
The goal rattled Barça, which cranked up the intensity but wasted its best chances. Fermín hit a strong shot that Zetterer stopped, Raphinha tried to take matters into his own hands and sent it over the bar. It looked like the team was creating plenty but squeezing almost nothing out of it. And halftime arrived with a rare scenario under Flick, Barcelona trailing at home. It wasn’t a meltdown, but it showed how much the team still fluctuates when it needs to turn pressure into precision, something that keeps hurting them whenever the opponent waits for a mistake.
The reaction built from the flanks and turned Camp Nou around
Flick sent on Rashford to stretch the field, and the change had an immediate impact. Raphinha had a clear chance right after the restart but skied it. The adjustment opened space for a rhythm that finally clicked. In the 50th minute, a cross from the left found Koundé charging into the box, and the equalizer lifted a crowd that had been begging for more presence inside the area.
Three minutes later came déjà vu. Lamine Yamal received the ball on the left, lifted his head and sent it again toward Koundé, who appeared free once more to head it in, with the fullback writing an unprecedented chapter, since no Barça player had ever scored two headed goals in a single Champions League match.
The comeback, Barcelona’s fourth in a row, reinforces a curious pattern this season. The team stumbles on little details, like the offside line, but never collapses. And through it all, it keeps finding ways to flip matches that, for 45 minutes, seem to slip right through its fingers.