Barcelona is still alive in the fight for a place in the round of 16 of the Champions League. For the fourth round of the tournament’s group stage, the Spanish team beat Dynamo Kiev 1-0 in Ukraine on Tuesday and assumed the vice-leadership of Group E.
Even needing the triumph to breathe in the competition, Barça had difficulty breaking the main block and created few chances. In the first half, only a header by Lenglet on the crossbar after a free kick by Jordi Alba led to danger.
Dynamo, on the other hand, had good opportunities from the 23rd minute onwards, when they started to get more attacking. First, Shaparenko received from Tsygankov and sent close to Ter Stegen’s left post. Afterwards, the goalkeeper had to make a great save with a strong kick by Carlos de Pena. Finally, Shaparenko submitted again from inside the area and hit the net, but from the outside.
The second half started similar to the first, with Barcelona having more of the ball, but arriving few times with danger. The first chance of the complementary stage was for the Ukrainian team, in a shot by Karavaev, who skimmed the visiting left post.
The first time they managed to enter the Dynamo area with quality, Barça opened the scoring. On minute 24, Minguenza received the ball on the right and crossed low to Ansu Fati, who kicked hard from the top, giving goalkeeper Bushchan no chance.
After the goal, Dynamo Kiev launched the attack, but stopped at Ter Stegen. The German goalkeeper made good saves in attempts by Sydorchuk and Tsyganov, ensuring the victory of the Catalan club.
With the result, Barcelona reached six points and took second place in Group E of the Champions League. Dynamo Kiev, who have just one point, remain in the bottom line.
Bayern beat Benfica to guarantee early classification
In the other Group E game, Bayern Munich defeated Benfica 5-2 on Tuesday at the Allianz Arena. With the result, the German team continues with 100% success in the tournament and guaranteed an early place in the round of 16.
In the first half, Lewandowski and Gnabry opened 2-0 for the hosts, while the young Brazilian defender Morato, a spawn of the São Paulo youth divisions, declined. In the final stretch, Vlachodimos also saved a penalty hit by Lewandowski.
The wasted charge, however, did not shake the Polish striker, who scored twice more in the second stage. With the hat-trick, the shirt 9 assumed the artillery of the Champions League, with eight balls in the net in four matches.
Leroy Sané scored the other goal for Bayern, and Darwin Núñez scored for Benfica.
No more in the arena!
✨ We are in #UCL– eighth finals! ✨#FCBSLB #MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/Dj9Ae6H44G
– FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayern) November 2, 2021
With 12 points, Bayern Munich is the isolated leader of Group E. Benfica has four points and appears in second position. The Portuguese club will have a direct duel for the vice-leadership against Barcelona on November 23, at Camp Nou. On the same day, the Bavarian team visits Dynamo Kiev.
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