Barcelona made to work hard for victory against stubborn Shakhtar
Having recovered from a two-goal deficit to beat Royal Antwerp on matchday two, Shakhtar travelled to Catalonia knowing an equally impressive performance was needed against an in-form Barcelona side, who sat top of Group H with a perfect record from their opening two group games.
Determined to move a step closer to their first round of 16 appearance in the UCL since 2020/21, the hosts started in dominant fashion, as Fermin Lopez saw an early effort thwarted by the boot of Dmytro Riznyk.
The Catalans continued to probe for a breakthrough as the first half progressed, and after López rattled the upright from close range, Ferran Torres was in the right place at the right time to confidently dispatch the rebound, giving Barca a well-deserved lead shortly before the half-hour mark.
Armed with the momentum, the hosts doubled their advantage just eight minutes later through the influential Lopez, who skipped past a challenge on the edge of the box before firing a rasping drive into the top corner.
Faced with a two-goal deficit at the break for the second consecutive UCL match, Shakhtar emerged after the restart with a renewed focus, and the Ukrainian side pulled a goal back in the 62nd minute when Heorhiy Sudakov finished brilliantly from Irakli Azarovi’s inch-perfect pass.
Buoyed by that goal, the visitors went in pursuit of an equaliser as time ticked into the final 25 minutes, but it was Barca who came within inches of restoring their two-goal lead, as Lopez curled a sumptuous effort against the base of the post.
With Saturday’s El Clasico against rivals Real Madrid on the horizon, Xavi resisted the temptation to rest his key players as Shakhtar threw caution to the wind for a late leveller.
Despite the visitors’ pressure and a couple of half-chances for Taras Stepanenko, Barca held firm though, securing a hard-earned three points and extending their impressive home record against Ukrainian clubs to nine wins from 12 matches.
As for Shakhtar, they’ll be desperate to bounce back in the return fixture in matchday four after losing two of their opening three group games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Fermin Lopez (Barcelona)
