October 21, (THEWILL) – At the third attempt, Barcelona won their first Champions League match of the season, defeating Dynamo Kyiv 1-0 at Camp Nou.
Ronald Koeman’s side had suffered consecutive 3-0 defeats to Bayern Munich and Benfica, and were desperate for a win against the Ukrainian side to give them a chance of progressing to the knockout stages.
On Wednesday night, they cruised to their first three points with a routine victory over a lifeless Dynamo.
When Jordi Alba picked him out from a deep cross, Sergino Dest nearly gave Barcelona the lead after just 90 seconds, but the USA international could not keep his header down.
Then, Luuk de Jong met Memphis Depay’s free-kick, for a huge chance to put Barça ahead, but his free header was way off target.
As the visitors tried and failed to build from the back, the towering Dutchman had a shot tipped over by Heorhiy Bushchan.
Bushchan came to the rescue again, this time to deny Dest from close range, but he could not stop Gerard Pique’s volley after another great looping ball from Alba, which gave Barcelona their first Champions League goal of the season.
With Dynamo floundering, Koeman threw on Philippe Coutinho and Ansu Fati at halftime, and the duo had a field day running at the Ukrainian defence.
Fati robbed Bushchan just two yards from his goal and attempted to beat the goalkeeper with an overhead kick, but the teenager’s effort went wide.
Barcelona created few other clear-cut chances, but cruised to victory thanks to Dynamo’s complete lack of ability to do anything useful in possession.
In the end Barca continued a tradition of winning all 14 UEFA Champions League matches that Pique has scored in, the most number of games any player has scored in for a single side in the competition while winning all.
On Sunday, the Catalan side will face Real Madrid in the El Clasico at Camp Nou. On the same day, Dynamo Kiev hosts Dnipro-1 in the Ukrainian Premier League.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
