September 08, (THEWILL) – Barcelona romped to a convincing 5-1 victory over Viktoria Plzen to begin their UEFA Champions League campaign on a bright note, with Robert Lewandowski grabbing his first hat-trick for the Catalan side.
Although tougher tests are ahead, Barca’s three goals in the first half were more than the two they scored in the group stage of last season’s Europa League.
Although Jan Sykora scored for Plzen just before halftime against an uninspired Barca defence, the hosts had already taken the lead, thanks to goals from Franck Kessie and Lewandowski, who made it 3-1 with the final play of the first half.
The Polish striker made sure he became the first player to score a UCL hattrick with three different teams before Ferran Torres joined the fun, and Barca continued to dominate despite a minor slowdown in the pace.
It will get tougher as Barca, after visiting Cadiz in the Spanish top flight, will go to Bayern next Tuesday with Lewandowski returning to his former stomping grounds of the Allianz Arena, while Plzen will play away at Sigma Olomouc in 1. Liga before they host Inter next Tuesday.
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.
