Result: FC Barcelona 2-1 Dynamo Kyiv
Date: 04 November 2020
Venue: Camp Nou
Lionel Messi was back among the goals as FC Barcelona claimed a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Dynamo Kiev in UEFA Champions League action on Wednesday night.
The hosts won a penalty in the fourth minute when Messi was tripped up in the box by Denys Popov. The Argentine superstar dusted himself off and smashed it in to the bottom right corner.
Barca very nearly made it 2-0 in a matter of seconds. Pedri beat a defender in the box after being found by Sergio Dest and smashed the ball against the bottom of the crossbar. It bounced back onto the goalline and Dynamo desperately cleared.
The next chance came when Messi broke into the box and fired straight at Dynamo goalkeeper Ruslan Neshcheret who got across to tip the shot wide of the post. And in the 37th minute, Marc-Andre ter Stegen made a fantastic flapping save to keep out Vitaliy Buyalskiy's free header from the penalty spot.
Soon after, Dest reached the byline outside the box and fizzed in a cutback for Pedri whose shot was smartly saved by Neshcheret.
Dynamo came racing out of the blocks in the secone half. Straight from kick-off, Buyalskiy slid Viktor Tsygankov into the box and ter Stegen made a vital stop from the winger.
Ter Stegen preserved Barca's lead in the 52nd minute. Barca's latest attack broke down and Rodrigues was away on the counter, finding Vladyslav Supryaha with an excellent sliderule pass. Supryaha outmuscled the defender in the box and looked certain to score, only for ter Stegen to make a vital stop from close range.
With Barca on the backfoot, Pique popped up with a timely goal. The hosts took the corner short and Ansu Fati held it up to the left of the box. The youngster shifted onto his right foot and floated it in for Pique who powered a header past the helpless Neshcheret.
In the 75th minute, Dynamo got a little luck and the goal their performance deserved. Ter Stegen kept out Benjamin Verbic's shot from the left of the box, but couldn't hold it as it rolled to Tsygankov who knocked it into the net from a few yards out. But in the end, the Blaugrana would hold on for the win.
