Club Brugge were denied a famous win over Barcelona after Anthony Taylor canceled out Romeo Firmante’s stoppage-time goal to ensure the thrilling Champions League encounter ended 3-3.
Barcelona, ​​led by Hansi Flick, struggled during a thrilling match in Belgium and had to draw on three occasions.
Nicola Tresoldi put Brugge ahead early before Ferran Torres equalized but Carlos Forbes’ first goal made it 2-1 to the home side at half-time.
Lamine Yamal equalized with a stunning shot just after the hour mark, but Forbes’ second goal was followed by Yamal’s cross, which striker Christos Tzoulis headed into his own net.
There was still time for Brugge substitute Vermant to slide past Wojciech Szczesny before shooting into an empty net, but referee Taylor disallowed the goal after VAR intervened to ensure the spoils were shared.
Barcelona had a difficult time preparing to face it, with a fan bus catching fire earlier on Wednesday ahead of a performance that increased speculation about its coach Flick’s long-term future.
Flick scored with the same lineup that beat Elche 3-1 on Saturday, but within six minutes the visitors were trailing.
A violent attack led to Forbes running from the right side and a square for Tresoldi to pass Szczesny.
The goal was eventually awarded after a lengthy VAR check for offside but Barcelona restored parity just over two minutes later.
This time Barcelona beat the offside trap after Fermin Lopez was sent off and managed to cut off Torres, who scored his seventh goal of the season.
The frantic start was not over, as Forbes scored in the 17th minute to send Jan Bredelstadion into disarray.
A lightning counter-attack ended in a quick exchange between Tzoulis and Forbes, who kept his composure and fired a shot into the bottom corner.
After Bayern Munich scored their fourth goal at the end of October, it was a notable turnaround by Brugge, but they needed help from the woodwork to stay ahead at the break after Jules Kounde hit the crossbar.
Flick resisted the temptation to make changes in the first half but brought on Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski 32 minutes from time.
Three minutes later, Barcelona equalized when Yamal passed between two Brugge players, exchanged passes with Lopez, and scored with his boot into the net, silenced the home fans.
Forbes should have helped Brugge make an immediate response but fired wide before wild celebrations were unleashed by the former Wolves loanee in the 63rd minute.
Hans Vanakken broke through Barcelona’s high line and Forbes showed composure to get past Szczesny.
Forbes then wanted a penalty, which was initially awarded before it was disallowed and Barcelona made the most of that suspension when Yamal returned and crossed for Tzoulis to slot into his own net in the 77th minute.
The pendulum swung back in Brugge’s favor when substitute Vermant slipped on Szczesny, but referee Taylor called it a foul and it was 3-3.
