Barca reach last 16 with Koeman's B Team
Astrong second half powered by a Martin Braithwaite brace earned Barcelona a 4-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv in Champions League Group G action on Tuesday night at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv.
After a rather poor first 45 minutes from the visitors, Sergino Dest got Barcelona rolling by scoring his first Barcelona goal, becoming the first ever United States player to score for the famed Catalan club.
Braithwaite then followed that up with a pair of goals before Antoine Griezmann tacked on a late score to make it four wins in four matches in the Champions League for Barcelona, a stark contrast to their struggling domestic campaign in LaLiga Santander. The result also secures Barcelona's place in the last 16.
Ronald Koeman trotted a completely revamped starting XI, with just three usual starters in the mix - goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, centre-back Clement Lenglet and midfielder Philippe Coutinho. Meanwhile, fringe players like Junior Firpo, Carlos Alena and Braithwaite were given opportunities and centre-back Oscar Mingueza made a first-team debut.
Barcelona might have had the majority of possession, but they were far too slow when attacking inside the Dynamo area. Playmaking duties fell to Coutinho, but the Brazilian was met time and again with a sea of blue-and-white shirts, sending the rest of the Barcelona players scrambling trying to regain possession.
Dynamo weren't mustering much either except for a counter attack right before the half time break when a Carlos de Pena effort required a save from Ter Stegen.
Barcelona got their breakthrough in the second half with some sharp passing between Dest, Pedri and Braithwaite that ended with Dest running onto a pass and firing a right-footed shot into net for a 1-0 lead.
The goal injected Barcelona with a jolt of energy and soon enough it was 2-0 through Braithwaite, with a Pedri corner kick getting flicked on by Mingueza and the Danish striker arriving at the far post to finish.
Koeman's first three changes came midway through the half, with Pjanic giving up his spot to Riqui Puig, Griezmann replacing Coutinho and Jordi Alba coming on for Lenglet.
Barcelona were in full control and they added a third to put the nail in the Dynamo coffin, with Braithwaite converting from the penalty spot after he had received a foolish push from behind in the area from Popov.
Koeman handed out another two debuts by finally giving Matheus Fernandes a run-out, with the former Palmeiras man coming on for Pedri, followed later by Miami-born Konrad de la Fuente on for Trincao, making him the second US player in Barcelona history.
The night was then capped by Griezmann getting a badly needed goal in second half stoppage time to complete the 4-0 scoreline after some excellent link-up play and a good finish from the Frenchman.
Source: Marca English
