Barcelona Overpower Copenhagen 4-1 to Secure Champions League Last 16 Spot

Barcelona fought back from an early deficit to defeat Copenhagen 4-1 on Wednesday, earning a direct qualification to the Champions League knockout stage in fifth position of the league phase.

Goals in the second half from Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, and Raphinha turned the match in favour of Hansi Flick's team after young Viktor Dadason had given the Danish side an unexpected lead at the start.

Marcus Rashford, coming off the bench, confirmed Barcelona's success with a late free-kick that evaded Copenhagen's goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski.

The five-time European champions found it tough to gel during the opening 45 minutes yet dominated after the interval to easily claim a top-eight finish in the league phase.

"Everyone arrived tonight aiming for a top-eight spot, and we're delighted with the result," Yamal said to Movistar.

"Conceding first in the Champions League makes recovery tough, but our squad showed resilience and turned it around."

Barcelona required a victory to avoid the uncertainty of the play-off draw, but they trailed after just four minutes.

A misplaced pass from Jules Kounde was picked off, allowing Dadason to slip past Pau Cubarsi and shoot beyond an unguarded Joan Garcia in goal.

The Spanish title holders had chances to level but Kotarski denied Lewandowski and then blocked a shot from Eric Garcia.

The Barcelona backline player nearly scored himself with a strike from afar that struck the bar.

Just three minutes after the restart, the experienced Polish forward Lewandowski atoned for his earlier chance by equalising for Barcelona.

Dani Olmo delivered a precise pass along the right flank to Yamal, who squared it for Lewandowski to tap in.

The young Yamal gave Barcelona the lead around the hour mark with a shot from outside the area that took a deflection off Elias Achouri, arcing upwards before landing in the goal.

Barcelona ensured the points with a debated spot-kick after Lewandowski went to ground following light contact from Junnosuke Suzuki.

Raphinha converted from the penalty spot, his firm shot too strong for Kotarski despite the keeper guessing correctly.

Rashford, borrowed from Manchester United, finished the scoring with a free-kick that Kotarski reached but failed to stop.

This marked the English player's fifth goal in the Champions League this term, and he almost added a sixth when his long-range attempt hit the woodwork.

Copenhagen ended up 31st after a disallowed late effort from Gabriel Pereira due to offside, bowing out of the tournament.