An alarming defensive effort forced Barcelona to settle for a 3–3 draw against Club Brugge in the Champions League.

Carlos Forbs was the story of the game. The Manchester City academy graduate assisted Nicolò Tresoldi’s opener for Club Brugge and then restored their lead with a goal of his own after Ferran Torres momentarily brought Barcelona level.

Forbs secured his brace in the second half to get Brugge’ back in front after Lamine Yamal scored a fantastic goal to equalize quickly after the break. The electrifying teenager was determined to avoid defeat and would later be responsible for creating an own goal that salvaged a point for Barça.

The Catalans are lucky to leave Belgium with a draw given how poorly they defended all night. Concerns continue to mount regarding the state of a Barcelona side that now sit 11th in the standings halfway through the Champions League league phase.

Barcelona Player Ratings vs. Club Brugge (4-2-3-1)

Lamine Yamal.
Lamine Yamal was Barcelona’s most dangerous player against Club Brugge. | Nicolas Tuca/AFP/Getty Images

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: Wojciech Szczęsny—5.6: Failed to inspire confidence between the sticks and nearly gifted Brugge the match-winner late in the game.

RB: Jules Koundé—6.8: Another subpar performance which has become the norm in 2025–26. Continues to be caught ball-watching, playing opponents onside when Barcelona try to form their high line.

CB: Ronald Araújo—6.3: Araújo looked nervy all night, was careless in possession and was repeatedly out of position. Miscommunications affected him and the rest of Barça’s backline.

CB: Eric García—6.8: One of his worst performances of the season. Carlos Forbs got the better of him all game.

LB: Alejandro Balde—6.7: Nightmare of a defensive performance and quiet in attack. His passive marking resulted in Brugge’s third goal of the night.

CM: Marc Casadó—6.6: He was constantly caught out of position and struggled to give any balance to Flick’s side.

CM: Frenkie de Jong—7.2: Although he had positive spells that allowed Barcelona to control the ball for stretches of the game, overall he was unable to control the chaos that was unfolding around him. He missed the presence of Pedri alongside him.

RW: Lamine Yamal—8.7: Arguably his best performance since his injury struggles started back in September. He was at the heart of everything that went right in attack and no opposing defender seemed capable of stopping him.

AM: Fermín López—8.7: Bagged two assists and was Barcelona’s bright spot on the night alongside Yamal.

LW: Marcus Rashford—6.8: Didn’t look sharp and failed to harm Brugge’s backline. Not his night.

ST: Ferran Torres—7.2: The best way to describe his showing is that he scored a goal but could’ve had a couple more. The definition of his season so far.

Subs not used: Diego Kochen (GK), Eder Aller (GK), Xavi Espart, Marc Bernal, Dro Fernández.

Club Brugge (4-2-3-1):

Starting XI: Nordin Jackers; Kyriani Sabbe, Joel Ordóñez, Brandon Mechele, Joaquin Seys; Aleksandar Stanković, Raphael Onyedika; Carlos Forbs, Hans Vanaken, Christos Tzolis; Nicolò Tresoldi.

Subs used: Mamadou Diakhon, Romeo Vermant, Lynnt Audoor, Hugo Vetlesen.

Barcelona Player of the Match: Lamine Yamal, Fermín López

Player of the Match: Carlos Forbs (Club Brugge)

Club Brugge 3–3 Barcelona—How It Unfolded at Jan Breydel Stadium

Carlos Forbs and Eric García.
Carlos Forbs (left) tormented Barcelona’s backline all game. | Nicolas Tuca/AFP/Getty Images

The hosts stunned Barça six minutes into the game. Another failure deploying the trademarked high line allowed Forbs to send in a cross to a completely unmarked Tresoldi, who fired a shot past Wojciech Szczęsny to grab an early lead.

Flick’s men responded just two minutes later. Yamal set Fermín López free down the right wing and the young Spaniard bagged his third assist in two games when he threaded a pass for Torres to tuck in Barcelona’s equalizer in a frenetic opening 10 minutes of the match.

But Barça’s joy was short-lived, and their disastrous defensive performance continued. In a quick transition Forbs was played through on goal from behind the halfway line. The Portuguese attacker didn’t waste his chance and tucked a shot into the bottom corner to restore Brugge’s lead inside 20 minutes.

Yamal tried to inspire Barcelona’s reaction, but between the post and other attackers wasting chances, the Catalans went into halftime trailing despite dominating possession.

Barcelona’s No. 10 had a golden opportunity immediately after the break. The ball fell perfectly into his path in what was essentially a rolling penalty, but Yamal failed to place his shot and it went straight at where the goalkeeper was standing to continue Barça’s frustrations.

Finally, Yamal’s efforts materialized into a sensational Barça equalizer. The teenager dribbled past three players before Fermín pulled off a dazzling back-heel assist that Yamal tucked away into the far post to bring the visitors level just past the hour-mark.

Nevertheless, Brugge and Forbs responded almost instantly once again. Forbs got in behind Alejandro Balde and kept his cool in front of goal, chipping Szczęsny to score his team’s third three minutes after Barça’s equalizer.

In the 72nd minute, match referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the penalty spot after Balde seemingly took down Forbs inside the area. But upon further review it was determined that it was Forbs who initiated the contact and the decision was overturned.

Not five minutes later, Barcelona drew level with Yamal at the heart of it all again. He found space down the right and sent in a cross that was deflected by Christos Tzolis into the back of the net for an own goal.

Although the Catalans tried to push forward looking to bag a winner, they were unable to score a fourth in the dying minutes. In fact, Szczęsny nearly gave Brugge the winner in stoppage time, but a VAR review saved him after the official determined Romeo Vermant fouled the goalkeeper when he dispossessed him.

In the end, Barcelona’s defensive deficiencies were too much to overcome, something that’s become a worrying trend over the past month.

Club Brugge vs. Barcelona Halftime Stats

Club Brugge vs. Barcelona Full Time Stats

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona Player Ratings vs. Club Brugge: Dreadful Defensive Performance Proves Costly.

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