Defender Jules Kounde netted two goals as Barcelona overcame a deficit to defeat Eintracht Frankfurt in Barcelona’s first Champions League match at the Nou Camp in over three years.
The guests took the lead in the 21st minute when Ansgar Knauff sprinted onto Nathaniel Brown’s delivery, shrugged off Alejandro Balde, and neatly placed the ball by Joan Garcia.
England striker Marcus Rashford, who joined as a substitute at halftime, had an immediate effect when his left-side cross was headed home by Kounde in the 50th minute.
The French defender netted his second three minutes later, this time heading in Lamine Yamal’s cross when free six yards away.
The win brings five-time European champions Barca to 10 points from their six matches, and with two games remaining, they remain in the running for a top-eight spot that would allow them to advance directly to the last 16 and skip the playoff round.
Hansi Flick’s team will face Slavia Prague on January 21 and conclude their league phase at home against Copenhagen the following week.
In the meantime, Eintracht Frankfurt, currently seventh in the German Bundesliga, face significant risk of being ousted from European competition with only four points acquired from their first six matches.
For Barcelona, this marked their fourth match at the Nou Camp since it resumed last month following renovation efforts.
The team last competed in a Champions League match at that venue in October 2022, suffering a 3-0 defeat against Bayern Munich, but they subsequently participated in the Europa League in February 2023.
Construction on the Nou Camp commenced in June 2023, with an investment of around £1.1bn aimed at modernizing the stadium and increasing its capacity to 105,000, positioning it among the largest stadiums globally.
Following two seasons primarily at the Estadi Olympique, which was the venue for the 1992 Olympics, the Nou Camp reopened at a diminished capacity of 45,401, with ongoing work on the upper tier and the roof.
Flick’s team has now triumphed in all four of their games played at their usual home ground.
Rashford, currently on a season-long loan from Manchester United, described his time playing in the Champions League at the Nou Camp as an “incredible experience” and remarked, “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 faced difficulties in their league performance and suffered a 6-0 defeat against RB Leipzig on Saturday, yet they were the first to score and created opportunities to extend their advantage, but Ellyes Skhiri and Fares Chaibi missed the target.
Two goals by Kounde in a span of four minutes changed the game for a Barcelona team that had previously lost 3-0 to Chelsea in their last Champions League match.
The sole drawback for Barcelona was Yamal’s second-half yellow card after a foul on Brown, resulting in the young forward being banned for the journey to Prague.
