Barcelona have nothing on the line against Viktoria Plzen in the Czech Republic, but they have not wasted any time in asserting themselves.
Xavi Hernandez has chosen to rotate heavily and leave Sergio Busquets and Robert Lewandowski at home in Barcelona. Injuries to Jules Kounde and Eric Garcia meant starts for Gerard Pique and Marcos Alonso in central defence once again.
It was Alonso who opened the scoring. The former Chelsea defender has his first goal for Barcelona following a move upfield, showing plenty of desire to get to Ansu Fati’s parried shot first.
MARCOS ALONSO SCORES HIS FIRST BARCELONA GOAL!!!pic.twitter.com/H9bJBv5uaN
— Football Report 🕊☮️🌍🌎🌏 #BerhalterOut #NashOut (@FootballReprt) November 1, 2022
Marcos Alonso wastes no time finding the opener for Barcelona ⚡ pic.twitter.com/A90m8OnmDU
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 1, 2022
Marcos Alonso gives BARCELONA the early lead over Viktoria Plzeň 🔥#UCL pic.twitter.com/pGosLNT88z
— DAZN Canada (@DAZN_CA) November 1, 2022
Xavi Hernandez’s side started well and have put on an exhibition of crisp passing so far. That includes youngster Pablo Torre, who looks at home on his first start.
In his pre-match press conference he had stated that Barcelona could gain both confidence and momentum from this match. So far they look to be doing exactly that.