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Barcelona 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk player ratings after the hosts took control of their Champions League clash with a dominant First Half display at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium. The Catalans led 2-0 at the break thanks to goals from Ferran Torres and the impressive Fermin Lopez.
However it was a different story after the break as the visitors responded to a cautious First Half showing with a much improved display which saw them ask many questions of the home defence. They pulled one back just after the hour mark through their standout player Georgiy Sudakov but ended up on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline.
Barcelona 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk Player Ratings
Contents
Match Timeline
8’ – A big early chance for Fermin Lopez who cleverly creates space for himself in the penalty area but the youngster is denied by the feet of Dmytro Riznyk.
25’ – Joao Cancelo bursts into the box and wrongfoots Mykola Matvienko but can only fire straight at Riznyk.
30’ (GOAL) – Femin Lopez is released by Ilkay Gundogan and fires his shot against the post but Ferran Torres hammers the rebound home. The flag is up for offside but the goal is awarded after a VAR check.
36’ (GOAL) – Brilliant from Fermin Lopez as the youngster unleashes a thunderbolt from the edge of the penalty area which flies into the net off the post.
49’ – Joao Felix heads towards the far corner of the goal but is denied by the long reach of Riznyk.
62′ (GOAL) – Georgiy Sudakov makes a bright burst forwards for Shakhtar and latches onto a good pass from Irakli Azarov before firing past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
69′ – Femin Lopez unleashes another rocket from the edge of the box which this time bounces back off the post.
Star Player – Fermin Lopez (Barcelona) – 9.20/10
Fermin Lopez was everywhere for Barcelona with regular bursts forwards, 3 key passes and a number of sweet drives from long range, one of which brilliantly doubled Barca’s advantage. He hit the woodwork twice and was also denied a headed goal by a marginal offside decision.
It was the kind of display which will generate real excitement amongst Barca fans. On this evidence, the famous La Masia academy may just have unearthed another midfield gem.
Barcelona player ratings
Marc-Andre ter Stegen 6/10 – The visitors only had one attempt on target which Ter Stegen could do little about.
Marcos Alonso 6/10 – More prominent in the early part of the Second Half before being replaced.
Ronald Araujo 7/10 – Some useful blocks and clearances helped preserve Barca’s advantage.
Inigo Martinez 6/10 – Steady until the closing stages when Shakhtar started to put him under more pressure.
Joao Cancelo 6/10 – Not at his most influential.
Ilkay Gundogan 8/10 – Took responsibility in an injury-ravaged side with some classy passes and crosses creating opportunities for the hosts.
Oriol Romeu 5/10 – Caught out a couple of times by the pace of Shakhtar’s attacks after the break.
Fermin Lopez 9/10 – A brilliant goal and he could have had more with a header ruled offside and two efforts hitting the post.
Joao Felix 6/10 – Some nice interplay with Ferran but hobbled off in the Second Half, a concern ahead of El Clasico.
Ferran Torres 7/10 – Another Champions League goal for Ferran via a powerful strike.
Lamine Yamal 6/10 – Brief moments of promise, but failed to make a truly decisive contribution in the final third.
Marc Guiu (sub) 6/10 – Failed to repeat his weekend heroics on debut but didn’t really have any clear chances.
Alejandro Balde (sub) 7/10 – Helped ease the pressure on his team when they were on the back-foot in the Second Half.
Marc Casado (sub) N/A
Andreas Christensen (sub) N/A
Shakhtar Donetsk player ratings
Dmytro Riznyk 7/10 – A couple of decent early saves. Could do little about the two goals.
Irakli Azarov 7/10 – Standout contributions included a well timed pass to set up Shakhtar’s goal and an important late tackle.
Mykola Matvienko 5/10 – Shaky in the early stages with poor passes and poor positioning leading to several early chances for the hosts, but better after the break.
Valerii Bondar 6/10 – The more assured of Shakhtar’s centre-backs.
Yukhym Konoplya 7/10 – A committed display left him with a booking and a few bruises from First Half knocks.
Taras Stepanenko 7/10 – A brilliant challenge denied Barca what would have been a killer third First Half goal.
Dmytro Kryskiv 6/10 – Failed to find the right pass on the rare occasions he had space to attack.
Georgiy Sudakov 8/10 – Did his best to spark Shakhtar into life throughout and took his goal well.
Artem Bondarenko 6/10 – Struggled to limit the influence of Gundogan.
Oleksandr Zubkov 6/10 – Had a late opportunity blocked as Shakhtar pressed for a leveller.
Danylo Sikan 6/10 – Worked hard but cut a lonely figure up front for the visitors for much of the game.
Newerton (sub) 7/10 – Made a genuine impact but fired over from long-range in his only real glimpse of goal.
Kevin Kelsy (sub) N/A
Eguinaldo (sub) N/A
Barcelona 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk Player Ratings – The Final Word
Barcelona are now firmly in control of this group with maximum points from their opening 3 games. The absence of a number of key men again is a continued concern though with El Clasico less than 72 hours away.
Shakhtar meanwhile reach the midway point on 3 points. They can be proud of their Second Half display tonight but face a real scrap with Porto and potentially Royal Antwerp for the other qualification position in this group.
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