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FULL-TIME, Barcelona 2-1 Shakhtar: This should have been an easy win but Barça couldn’t kill the game off and had to suffer in the second half, but the three points are theirs and the Blaugrana remain perfect in the Champions League after three group games. Qualification is now all but guaranteed, and we remain unbeaten going into a massive Clásico at the weekend. Well done, boys!
75’ INJURY: Yet another big injury scare for Barça as João Félix is forced off and needs to be replaced by young striker Marc Guiu. Hopefully it’s nothing serious for Félix with El Clásico so close.
70’ GOAL DISALLOWED: A second Barça goal is ruled out in this half as Fermín López heads home a cross from Marcos Alonso but is narrowly offside.
62’ GOAL, Barcelona 2-1 Shakhtar (Sudakov): Shakhtar are back in it. Sudakov gets in behind the defense and receives a pass in space and has time to pick his spot and beat Marc-André ter Stegen to give the visitors life with a half-hour to go.
59’ GOAL DISALLOWED: Ferran receives a beautiful pass from João Cancelo and scores his second of the night, but goal is ruled for offside.
SECOND HALF KICKOFF! Barcelona 2-0 Shakhtar: Back underway at Montjuïc! Let’s finish the job and secure the win, boys!
HALFTIME, Barcelona 2-0 Shakhtar: A comfortable and dominant half for Barça, who scored twice but could easily be out of sight by now because of the quality of attacking play and the big chances they created. Despite all the absences the performance has been impressive so far, and the job in the second half is to avoid a letdown and maybe get another goal or two to confirm the win.
36’ GOAL!!!! Barcelona 2-0 Shakhtar (Fermín): BARÇA DOUBLE THE LEAD!!! It’s a first Champions League goal in his first Champions League start for Fermín López as the young man finishes off a gorgeous passing sequence through the middle with a rocket from the edge of the box that explodes off the post and goes into the back of the net! WHAT A GOAL!!!
28’ GOAL!!!! Barcelona 1-0 Shakhtar (Ferran): BARÇA TAKE THE LEAD!!! Ilkay Gündogan plays a beautiful ball over the top to Fermín López, who chests it down and hits the post but Ferran Torres is right there to claim the rebound and fire it home to put the home team in front!
KICKOFF! Barcelona 0-0 Shakhtar: And we’re underway at Montjuïc!
WELCOME TO THE MONTJUÏC OLYMPIC STADIUM!!! The beautiful temporary home of the world’s greatest club is the site of Barcelona’s third Champions League group stage match as they welcome Shakhtar Donetsk looking for three more points that will virtually guarantee a spot in the Round of 16, but it won’t be easy against a Shakhtar side still in contention looking for a big upset in the Catalan capital to make things very interesting in the group. This should be fun, and you’re welcome to join us to follow and comment all the action. Vamos!
(Note: the comments will be open only when the team news come out, because our commenter people love commenting and sometimes there are too many comments in the comments section)
LINEUPS
BARCELONA
Starting XI: Ter Stegen; Cancelo, Araujo, Iñigo, Alonso; Fermín, Romeu, Gündogan; Yamal, Ferran, Félix (4-3-3)
Substitutes: Peña (GK), Astralaga (GK), Christensen, Cubarsí, Fort, Balde, Casadó, Garrido, Guiu
SHAKHTAR DONETSK
Starting XI: Riznyk; Konoplia, Bondar, Matviyenko, Azarov; Stepanenko; Zubkov, Bondarenko, Sudakov, Kryskiv; Sikan (4-1-4-1)
Substitutes: Rudko (GK), Castillo, Eguinaldo, Shved, Gocholeishvili, Kelsy, Chygrynskiy, Topalov, Ocheretko, Nazaryna, Newerton, Rakitskiyy
MATCH INFO
Competition/Round: 2023-24 Champions League, Group H, Matchday 3
Date/Time: Wednesday, October 25, 2023, 6.45pm CET (Barcelona), 5.45pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 12.45pm ET, 9.45am PT (USA), 10.15pm IST (India)
Venue: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Montjuïc, Barcelona, Catalona, Spain
Referee: Ivan Kružliak (SVK)
VAR: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
HOW TO WATCH
On TV: TUDN (USA), TNT Sports 1 (UK), SuperSport (Nigeria), SONY TEN 2 (India), Movistar Liga de Campeones (Spain), others
Online: Paramount+ (USA), Discovery+ (UK), Movistar+ (Spain), others
Matchday Thread Rules
We don’t have a lot of rules here, but there are a few things to keep in mind when joining our matchday threads:
Even if the referee sucks or we lose the game, watch the swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do it will be warned, and those who post links will be instantly banned. Finally, be nice to each other. This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another.
Have fun with the game! Forever and ever, no matter the competition, VISCA EL BARÇA!
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