SAN FRANCISCO, November 05, (THEWILL) – Lionel Messi commemorated his 150th European appearance for Barcelona with a goal as Ronald Koeman’s side saw off unyielding opponents Dynamo Kiev 2-1 in Wednesday’s entertaining UEFA Champions League clash.
The superstar forward scored from the penalty spot for the third consecutive Group G game and defender Gerard Pique added a second, but only after Barca had endured a number of scares.
Returning goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen had to be at his sharpest with a handful of top-class saves. The best of the lot was keeping out central attacking midfielder Vitaliy Buyalskiy’s free header in the first half, while Polish right back Tomasz Kedziora had a goal ruled out.
Dynamo, who named a depleted squad due to a coronavirus outbreak in the camp, still pushed their illustrious opponents all the way thanks to right winger Viktor Tsygankov’s strike 15 minutes from time. Barca held on to make it nine points from nine.
It was a game that will very much be remembered for showpiece goalkeeping. Ter Stegen made six crucial saves compared to Ruslan Neshcheret’s 11.
Owing to Ter Stegen’s performance between the sticks, Barca retain a three-point lead over Juventus, who triumphed 4-1 over Ferencvaros away at Budapest on Wednesday – while Dynamo are eight points worse off in third.
Koeman’s side have made their joint-worst start to a La Liga season, but they have a perfect record in Europe and have to transfer that form into their flagging domestic campaign.
Barcelona are at home for their next fixture against Real Betis on Saturday in their final La Liga outing before the international break. Dynamo take on Shakhtar Donetsk in a top-of-the-table clash in the Ukrainian Premier League the following day.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
