UEFA Champions League | Barcelona 0-0 Slavia Prague: 3 Talking Points 

#1 Slavia Prague good value for the stalemate

Slavia Prague impressed against Barcelona

When the draws for the Champions League were concluded, it pitted Slavia Prague with Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, and Barcelona.

All three are former European champions and despite their impressive record domestically, nobody would have given Slavia Prague any chance of making a mark in Group F of the competition.

They began their tournament with a 1-1 draw away to Inter Milan at the San Siro having led till the dying minutes of the game and were unlucky to lose to Dortmund on matchday 2.

They hosted Barcelona on matchday 3 and were hugely impressive in the fixture, putting the Catalans on the backfoot for most of the game and it is not an exaggeration to state that the five-time European champions were relieved to hear the final whistle.

In the return leg at Camp Nou, Slavia Prague were not in the least bit intimidated by the historical nature of the stadium or quality of players they came up against and attacked their hosts from the get-go.

In a frantic first 20 minutes, Slavia had the Barcelona defenders at sixes and sevens, seemingly slicing through their midfield at will and forcing the Barcelona defense into numerous despairing clearances.

Nigerian international Peter Olayinka was a thorn in the flesh of Nelson Semedo throughout the match and even though Lionel Messi tried to force the issue with a number of individually brilliant runs, you would be hard pressed to find anyone who would suggest that Slavia Prague did not do enough for the draw.

With just two points from four matches so far, it looks highly likely that Slavia Prague's first Champions League run in 12 years is going to end at the group stage, but having picked up draws from two historical stadiums in Camp Nou and San Siro, this has been one hell of a ride for the Czech side.