When Slavia Prague were pitted against Barcelona in the Champions League group stages, they took their ill fortune with good humour.Their delegates were captured on camera bursting into laughter when they were drawn into Group F. Of course, it comprises the Czech side, the Blaugrana, as well as Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan. It's a veritable group of death. Nobody ever expected them to progress, but they have far from embarrassed themselves so far. 

After escaping the San Siro with a 1-1 draw and losing 2-0 to Dortmund, they did themselves justice against Barca on Wednesday evening. 

Ernesto Valverde's side only won 2-1 thanks to a fortuitous own goal by Peter Olayinka. 

Lionel Messi had got them off to the perfect start in the third minute, his goal making him the first player to score in 15 consecutive Champions League seasons. 

Jan BoÅ™il cancelled out the Argentine's strike and Slavia created several other decent chances, before Luis Suarez tried to slice the ball over the defence and it bounced off Olayinka. 

In spite of the result, the performance has done little to ease the pressure on Valverde. 

Questions are still being asked amidst Barcelona's worst league start in 25 years - albeit one which still sees them sit top of La Liga by a point.

The manager once again had Messi to thank for dragging his side over the line. 

Even the 32-year-old can make mistakes, however, and he missed a glorious chance to put the game beyond doubt with 15 minutes left. 

Leo, is that you? 

Fortunately, Barcelona have until Tuesday, when they face Real Valladolid, to recover their best form. 

El Clásico, which was originally supposed to take place this weekend, has been rescheduled for December 18 amidst continued unrest in Catalonia.