Barcelona battle to second spot with thrilling draw against Atalanta

This result ensures the Catalonian team's advancement to the knockout stages, where they will face some of Europe's elite clubs.

Hansi Flick, Barcelona's coach, expressed satisfaction with the outcome. "I'm very happy with second place," Flick said after the match.

"It's a great success for the team. It was a difficult match; we could have defended a little better. Yes, that needs to be improved."

The game started with both teams showing restraint, perhaps due to the lack of immediate pressure to win. Atalanta had the better of the early chances, with Sead Kolasinac and Davide Zappacosta testing Barcelona's defence, though they failed to trouble goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.

Mateo Retegui also came close, but his shot was saved for a corner. A potential goal from Zappacosta was disallowed by VAR for offside, keeping the scoreline level at halftime.

The second half brought the action to life. Barcelona broke the deadlock early on when Lamine Yamal capitalized on a low pass from Raphinha to score.

However, Atalanta quickly responded with Ederson's spectacular long-range shot finding the net. The lead changed hands again when Ronald Araujo headed in from a Raphinha corner, only for Mario Pasalic to equalize for Atalanta with a fine finish in the box.

Flick reflected on the game's lessons, saying, "We learned a lot from this game. It was good. We wanted to change things in the second half. We finished second and that's great. It's a great success for the team and for the club."

Looking ahead, Flick remained cautious about the next phase of the competition. "It's always good to think about the next game. We'll see on Friday what the mix is and what the draw holds. We also have to bear in mind that there are some big clubs that are not in the next round.

"If you think this could be a good opponent... it could end up being the toughest."

The new Champions League format was also on Flick's mind as he noted, "I think it's a new format and the most important thing is that you never know what will happen. Now I can say that I'm happy with this format because we're in the top 8 and we have 15 more days to train."

For Atalanta, the result was less joyful as they missed out on securing a top eight spot, pushing them into the additional knockout round play-offs. This match was a testament to the competitive nature of European football, where every point and position can dramatically alter a team's fate.

READ MORE: Liverpool's Champions League winning run tarnished by PSV upset