Barcelona ended a challenging Champions League season with a victory after defeating Viktoria Plzen 4-2 in a thrilling match. Prior to their last Group C meeting, the Blaugrana were already guaranteed a spot in the Europa League when Inter and Bayern Munich advanced last week.
Barça's lone other triumph during a miserable Champions League run came in the rematch against Plzen in September, although Xavi's squad battled back to triumph admirably at the Doosan Arena.
After Marcos Alonso's early goal, Ferran Torres scored twice, and even though Plzen responded with Tomas Chory's double, Pablo Torre celebrated his first Barca start with a goal to end the match.
With nothing on the line but pride, Barca got off to a fast start. In the sixth minute, Ansu Fati's shot was mishandled by Jindrich Stanek, and Alonso was quick to pick up the rebound and prod the goal. The pace was set for a half in which Barca was dominant, but their next goal didn't come until right before the break.
A VAR review overruled the first decision to rule that Torres' close-range goal was offside, doubling Barca's lead. After the break, Plzen unexpectedly scored again thanks to Chory's successful conversion of the penalty he earned for fouling Torre, but Barca's two-goal lead was restored when Torres swept home from Raphinha's cutback at the end of a deft play.
In the 63rd minute, Chory took advantage of sloppy defending to double his tally. However, 19-year-old Torre scored Barca's fourth goal to seal the victory, and Plzen failed to take advantage of a flurry of late opportunities to set up a spectacular finish.
WHY DOES THAT MATTER? BARCA IS AIMING FOR THE EUROPA LEAGUE.
Xavi's team finally picked up a second victory of the season against the opponent they had a strong start against back in September after going winless in their previous four Champions League games.
As part of the reorganization of UEFA's club competitions, they will now have to compete against a second-place group stage team from that competition in a play-off to actually make it to the round of 16. Previously, their third-place finish would have sent them directly into the knockout stages of the Europa League. Last season, they lost to Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarterfinals, who went on to win the championship.
KESSIE MAKES THE INJURIES WORSE
Another setback for Barca in a season that has already seen several of their stars sidelined by injuries is Franck Kessie's apparent hamstring issue in the second half.
The Ivory Coast international made three tackles before being substituted, which tied for the night's most for the visiting team. If he needs a break, his tenacious presence will be missed.
PLZEN DESCEND VIGOROUSLY
Few thought the hosts had a chance, and their poor possession statistics—they only had 23.2% of the ball—would indicate they were outmatched.
However, such was not the case, as Plzen had 22 shots to Barca's 11, with eight of those shots finding the back of the net. In fact, the Czech team didn't stop pressing for additional goals even after Torre became the second-youngest Barcelona player to score on his first Champions League start.
NEXT, WHAT?
On Saturday, Viktoria will host Sparta Prague, while Barca competes against Almeria in LaLiga
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