Barcelona faced Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League this evening in a do-or-die fixture at Camp Nou, and came away with an unspectacular but vitally important 1-0 victory.
Barcelona were bottom of Group E going into the game, yet to score a goal or win a point. They were a point behind Dynamo, four behind Benfica and six behind Bayern Munich.
Gerard Pique is the first Barcelona player not named Lionel Messi to score in the Champions League since December 2020…
Barca FINALLY have their first #UCL goal of the season 😅 pic.twitter.com/uNHVNiNtGH
— Goal (@goal) October 20, 2021
Domestically, things aren’t so hot right now either. They’re currently seventh in La Liga, a point behind Rayo Vallecano in sixth and two behind Osasuna, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla and Real Madrid. They’re five short of league leaders Real Sociedad.
Barcelona basically had to beat Dynamo to stand any chance of making it out of their group and into the last 16 of the Champions League, but the turnout at Camp Nou was poor to say the least – especially for a game of such titanic importance.
Nevertheless, Barcelona scored the crucial goal in the 37th minute through Gerard Pique. The Catalan centre-back was assisted by another of the old guard, Jordi Alba, who lifted the ball to the back post to enable Pique to score at the back post.
🚨 𝙁𝙐𝙇𝙇 𝙏𝙄𝙈𝙀 !! 🚨#BarçaDynamo pic.twitter.com/VNacPdGIb1
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 20, 2021
“In the first half we should have scored more than once,” Alba said post-match as carried by Marca. “In the second, without them creating much danger or chances, we didn’t play well. We need to put opponents away, maintain the same intensity throughout. That’s achieved through work and doing things well.”
Thoughts have now turned to El Clasico – Barcelona face Real Madrid on Sunday afternoon to cap off a week that also saw them beat Valencia. “It’s an important week,” Alba admitted. “We’ve played two good games. It’s helped the team to continue growing but we expect a difficult game against Real Madrid, no matter how you go into it. We hope to be able to bring joy to the fans.”
