Barcelona took another step towards qualifying for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League when they beat Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Wednesday night.
First-half strikes from Ferran Torres and Fermin Lopez helped Barcelona take control of the match. Although Shakhtar increased the pressure after the break by pulling a goal back, Xavi Hernandez’s side held on for three points at home.
This was an important victory as it not only gave Barça a great advantage to progress to the next round in Europe but also gave them important momentum ahead of the first El Clasico of the season against Real Madrid at the end of the season. this week.
Barca got 3 extremely important points.
With the number of staff absent due to injury and suspension, Barcelona needed their other players to step up and that is exactly what happened as players like Ferran, Fermin and Lamine Yamal took turns shining. .
With his goal, Ferran Torres now has 5 goals in 8 matches for Barcelona in the Champions League, making him the fastest Spanish player to reach this milestone for a club in Europe’s most prestigious tournament.
Meanwhile, Fermin Lopez (20 years and 167 days) became the fifth youngest player to score for Barça in their Champions League debutafter Giovani Dos Santos, Pablo Torre, Sergi Roberto and Sergio Busquets.
This victory also means that Barcelona has started a season with 3 wins in their first 3 matches in the Champions League, they are without Lionel Messi for the first time since 2003.
Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Shakhtar means Barça have now won all seven home matches in all competitions this season. It was the best start to a home season since 2007/08.
The only blemish on the night was the goal Barcelona conceded in the second half, which is to say The Catalans have never started a UEFA Champions League group stage with three wins and have not conceded a goal after their first three matches..
The perfect run for El Clasico.
After the match, the Spanish coach spoke, quoted from Barca Universal:
“This was a match where we were considered winners and the club faced a difficult opponent. The team complicated themselves. We were not effective enough to win comfortably. best.
We successfully played all three matches in the Champions League. Achieve 9 out of 9 points, a reward for team effort. We’ve got what we need.”
Coach Xavi Hernandez’s Barcelona will have a confrontation with Real Madrid this Saturday. Many players are racing to overcome injuries to recover in time for El Clasico. The three points from the win over Shakhtar Donetsk not only brought maximum efficiency in terms of points, but also provided the perfect psychological boost for Blaugana before facing the team led by Carlo Ancelotti.
Dang Nguyen | 19:16 October 26, 2023
