Kiev, Nov 3 (BNA): Barcelona’s Ansu Fati scored a superb second-half goal to secure a decisive 1-0 victory over Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday and revive his club’s faltering Champions League campaign.
The 19-year-old Barcelona player saved his team in the 70th minute with a powerful shot from inside the area after the team’s defense failed to clear Oscar Mengueza’s cross from the right, Reuters reported.
However, the Ukraine champions gave Barcelona a tough time in a frantic match, with both teams missing many chances.
The victory put Barcelona in second place in Group E with six points, two points behind Benfica. Leaders Bayern qualified to the playoffs with 12 points after beating Benfica 5-2.
It was Barcelona’s first away win in all competitions this season.
“We all knew we had to win at any cost. The players were nervous before the match and you look at them now and their faces are different. Winning always helps and I hope we keep the momentum for the next match,” said the Barcelona interim coach. Sergey Bergoan told reporters.
After losing Sergio Aguero for three months, after assessing the heart, Barcelona welcomed the return of Fati and Ousmane Dembele from injury and both showed, along with fellow striker Memphis Depay, that they can bring the spark that the team desperately needs.
After dominating the first game at Camp Nou and winning 1-0, Barcelona faced Kiev who improved a lot at home.
Playing a deep defensive line and relying on counter-attacks, Dynamo threatened the visiting team’s goal and came close to opening the scoring at least three times in the first half.
Viktor Tsygankov used his speed to harass Barcelona left-back Jordi Alba throughout the match and Mykola Shabarenko missed two singles matches with goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Ter Stegen made a decisive save at the end of the first half after a powerful shot from outside the penalty area from Carlos de Pena.
Barcelona were also investigating, with Depay and Fati involved in their attacks, but only managed to get close to Dynamo’s goal in the second half when Dembele came off the bench.
Referee Ovidiu Hategan awarded Barcelona a penalty for a foul on Fati, but changed his decision after reviewing the VAR. However, it wasn’t long before Fati scored the winning goal with his blast from close range and Barcelona managed to seal the victory.