After a long absence from the European Football Association (UEFA) Champions League round of 16, FC Barcelona is finally within striking distance of advancing to the tournament.
The Blaugrana won 2-1 at home in the third leg of their UEFA Champions League (UCL) Group H match of the 2023-2024 season on Sunday (June 26) at the Estadio Nou Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain. It was Barcelona’s third straight win in the Champions League group stage.
Barcelona came out strong against Shakhtar, attacking from the start. Barcelona took the lead in the 28th minute on a goal by Ferran Torres. The goal was initially ruled offside, but after a VAR review, the goal was allowed to stand. Eight minutes later, in the 36th minute, youth team player Fermín López scored to make it 2-0. They pulled one back in the 17th minute of the second half through Georgi Sudakou, but held on to the lead until the end.
The win over Shakhtar extends Barcelona’s winning streak in the group stage to three games. Barcelona won their first group game 5-0 against Royal Antwerp in Belgium and followed that up with a 1-0 win against Porto. With three wins out of three in the group before the game against Shakhtar, the Catalans are firmly in first place in Group H.
The win means two things for Barcelona. First, it maintained Barcelona’s unbeaten run of 13 matches since the start of the 2023/24 season. Barcelona is also currently in third place in the Primera Liga with seven wins and three draws (24 points).
Additionally, Barcelona can look forward to reaching the round of 16 for the first time in three seasons after the 2020/21 season. Since reaching the round of 16 in 2020/21, Barcelona has been eliminated in the Champions League group stage each season. In 2021/22, they finished third in Group E behind Bayern Munich and Benfica. Last season, they were drawn in the Group of Death alongside Munich and Inter Milan, finishing third in the group and failing to advance to the round of 16.굿모닝토토 도메인
Barcelona is a five-time Champions League winner. In 2008/09 and 2014/15, they even won the treble. Their recent Champions League performances have been less than stellar, and they’ve taken the first steps toward restoring their honor.