FC Barcelona U19 A v Borussia Mönchengladbach: Inconsequential loss to close the group stage (1-2)

FC Barcelona U19 A suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Borussia Mönchengladbach on Tuesday, but the result makes very little difference to the blaugrana as they have reached the knockout stage as group leaders.

The game started with a chance for Barça, as Monchu’s free-kick that whistled just wide after just five minutes.

Despite very little in terms of key chances from either side, the Germans took the lead on 23 minutes. Simakala’s attempt from distance was saved by Iñaki, but it fell kindly to Jahn who was on hand to tap in the rebound.

Lee was a driving force for Barça in the team’s pursuit of restoring parity, and his closest effort was an effort from distance on 55, before Monchu went on a run and a had a fine strike from the edge of the box hit the post with just over 20 minutes remaining.

Finally, on 78 minutes, Mboula made it 1-1 from a Monchu assist, his fifth goal of the UEFA Europa Youth League.

But just when it looked as though Barça were the likelier side to leave victors, Borussia scored on the counter-attack through Simakala on 85 minutes to give the away side the point.

Despite the result, Barça finish the group as leaders and can look forward to the knockout stages in the new year. More news here