Feyenoord U19 took all three points away from the Camp Nou when they beat Barcelona U19 2-1 in the UEFA Youth League League Phase opener on Wednesday. The visitors struck first and held on through a frantic finish, leaving the home side to wonder what might have been.
J. Zinhagel opened the scoring in the ninth minute, catching the Barcelona defence sleeping. J. Schaken doubled the advantage before half-time, finding the net in the twenty-third minute. Barcelona had the ball more, but Feyenoord found a way back into it with clinical efficiency.
The second half belonged to Barcelona in terms of territory. N. Vicens pulled one back with a penalty in the seventy-seventh minute, and suddenly the game was alive again. But L. Haps saw red in the eightieth, and the visitors did not travel to make up the numbers.
By then the match had settled into something else entirely. Barcelona piled on the pressure but Feyenoord kept them in it, absorbing the blows and staying compact. The hosts went for the jugular but found nothing but space between the lines.
The statistics told the story of a one-sided performance. Barcelona recorded 139 attacks against 68, held 67 per cent possession and registered 11 shots off target to Feyenoord's two. Yet shots accuracy sat at 24 per cent for the hosts compared to 67 for the visitors. Many shots with one goal means chances went begging.
Barcelona remain eighth in the table with 13 points from six games, four wins, one draw and one loss. The defeat extends their search for consistency at this stage of the competition.