Barcelona travelled to Ukraine this evening to face Dynamo Kyiv in a must-win fixture in the Champions League, and got the job done thanks to a moment of quality from Ansu Fati.
The Catalan club sat third in Group E going into the game, two points clear of bottom-placed Dynamo, one behind second-placed Benfica and six behind pace-setters Bayern Munich. They had to emerge victorious to keep their dream alive and did, winning 1-0.
🏟 NSC Olimpiyskiy
📍 Kyiv
Game time approaching 🔜#DynamoBarça pic.twitter.com/akiEbpd2LD— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 2, 2021
Barcelona started well, playing with more intent and aggression than they have in recent times if still lacking a certain decisiveness in the final third. But by pressing Dynamo so high they left themselves exposed, something their hosts sought to take advantage of with quick, competent counter-attacks.
🚨 𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄! 🚨 #DynamoBarça pic.twitter.com/I15p8SByBG
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 2, 2021
Nerves frayed as the game wore on, and Barcelona thought they had won a penalty on the hour mark when Fati was felled in the box. VAR intervened, however, to overturn the decision.
Barcelona finally took the lead in the 70th minute. Oscar Mingueza whipped the ball in from the right side and it fell loose in the penalty area to Fati, who made no mistake in stepping up to the plate and smashing the ball into the back of the net.
