Defender Jules Kounde scored twice as Barcelona fought back from a goal down to beat Eintracht Frankfurt – in Barca’s first Champions League game at the Nou Camp in more than three years.
The visitors went ahead in the 21st minute when Ansgar Knauff raced on to Nathaniel Brown’s pass, held off Alejandro Balde and slotted the ball past Joan Garcia.
England forward Marcus Rashford, on as a half-time substitute, made an instant impact as his cross from the left was headed in by Kounde in the 50th minute.
The France defender scored his second three minutes later, this time connecting with Lamine Yamal’s delivery when unmarked six yards out.
The victory takes five-time European champions Barca on to 10 points from their six matches and, with two games to go, still in contention to claim a top-eight place that would see them jump straight into the last 16 and avoid the play-off round.
Hansi Flick’s side play at Slavia Prague on 21 January and end their league phase campaign at home to Copenhagen a week later.
Meanwhile, Eintracht Frankfurt, seventh in the German Bundesliga, are in serious danger of being eliminated from European competition as they only have four points from their opening six matches.
Home comforts for Barca
For Barcelona, this was their fourth game at the Nou Camp since it reopened last month after redevelopment work.
The club last played a Champions League match there in October 2022 when they lost 3-0 to Bayern Munich, although they did then play in the Europa League in February 2023.
Work began on the Nou Camp in June 2023 at a cost of about £1.1bn, to modernise the stadium and expand its capacity to 105,000, making it one of the largest grounds in the world.
After they spent the past two seasons playing largely at the Estadi Olimpic, which hosted the 1992 Olympics, the Nou Camp reopened with a reduced capacity of 45,401, with work still to be completed on the top tier and the roof.
And Flick’s side have now won all four of their matches back at their traditional home.
Rashford, on a season-long loan from Manchester United, said playing in the Champions League at the Nou Camp was an “amazing experience”, and added: “I’m enjoying it very much and looking forward to playing as much as I can.
“We’re in a position where it was important we got the points, so this is a good day, and now we rest and try to improve.
“The most important thing was to win, and I’m very happy we managed to do that. I thought we played quite well and controlled the game. They scored at an unexpected time, but we reacted well and managed to get the goals without changing too much.”
Frankfurt have struggled domestically and were beaten 6-0 by RB Leipzig on Saturday, but opened the scoring and had chances to double their lead, only for Ellyes Skhiri and Fares Chaibi to shoot over.
However, two goals from Kounde in four minutes transformed the match for a Barcelona side that had lost 3-0 at Chelsea in their previous Champions League tie.
The only negative for Barcelona was a second-half booking for Yamal following a foul on Brown, and that means the teenage forward will be suspended for the trip to Prague.
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