Barcelona vs Young Boys, Champions League: Final Score 5-0 ...
Barcelona have picked up their first points of the new League Phase format in this season’s UEFA Champions League thanks to a dominant 5-0 victory over Young Boys at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium on Tuesday night. The Blaugrana were the superior team from start to finish, wrapped up the victory by halftime and cruised to a very comfortable win at home.
FIRST HALF
The pattern of the game was set from the very beginning, with Young Boys fully committed to defending close to their goal while Barça had all of the ball and looked to break down the opposition’s low block.
The Blaugrana had an excellent rhythm to their attacking phase from the start, moving the ball with good pace and mixing short and long passes to find spaces inside the lines. Their good early work was rewarded just eight minutes into the action, as a gorgeous passing sequence down the right wing ended with a Raphinha assist and an easy far-post tap-in for Robert Lewandowski.
The hosts continued to comfortably control the game after taking the lead, and their high defensive line constantly forced Young Boys into giving the ball away easily. The Blaugrana kept firing shots on goal and looking for a second, and eventually found it just after the half-hour mark: a short corner routine found Pedri inside the box, and after his shot was blocked the ball fell perfectly to Raphinha who smashed the rebound home.
And three minutes after that came the game-clinching third goal: Pedri sent a free-kick into the box from the right wing, and Iñigo Martínez headed the cross home to triple the Barça lead just before the break. The hosts were clearly in the mood for more and Ferran Torres almost scored the fourth, but missed a one-on-one with the keeper from point-blank range.
The halftime whistle came to end a strong and dominant half for Barça, who established their superiority early and controlled the entire opening period and could have easily been up by more than just three goals. Would they add more in the second half, and would Frenkie de Jong make his long-awaited return?
SECOND HALF
Just like they did at the start of the game, Barça scored an early goal to begin the second half as Raphinha sent a corner into the box, Iñigo headed it towards goal and Lewandowski got his second tap-in of the night to make it four for the hosts just five minutes in.
With the three points more than assured, the final 40 minutes became about Barça’s ability to protect and increase their goal difference, which is a crucial part of the new Champions League format. The Catalans kept pushing and creating more chances, and looked hungry for more goals as we reached the hour mark.
Hansi Flick made his first two changes at that point, with Héctor Fort and Ansu Fati relieving Pau Cubarsí and Pedri and the Prince having a chance to play real minutes for the first time this season. Fati looked to get involved in the action early and often, but understandably looked a little rusty.
Young Boys had nothing to lose and started to be more adventurous going forward, and missed two huge chances on the same play as Joël Monteiro hit the crossbar and Jaouen Hadjam had a certain goal cleared off the line by Marc Casadó on the rebound.
Barça survived the scare and regained control of the match, and with 15 minutes to go came De Jong’s much-anticipated return to action as the Dutch midfielder replaced Lamine Yamal and received a standing ovation from the Montjuïc crowd. Frenkie, much like Fati, looked to get involved early and often but naturally looked a little off the pace, though he wasn’t afraid to get physical and both deliver and receive a few blows.
The pace of the game slowed down considerably towards the end, but there was still time for a fifth goal with 10 minutes remaining as Alejandro Balde’s low cross looking for Pau Víctor was deflected by Young Boys captain Mohamed Camara and went into the net to give the crowd one more reason to celebrate.
Young Boys almost found the net at the very end when Monteiro was played through one-on-one with Iñaki Peña and scored for the visitors, but his strike was ruled out by the semi-automated offside system.
The final whistle came to give Barça their first three points of the League Phase, and the five-goal win is also a big help to their goal difference, a category that will matter a lot in the UCL’s new format. The performance was dominant, and as expected there was barely any trouble from start to finish.
Barcelona: Peña; Kounde, Cubarsí (Fort 63’), Iñigo (Cuenca 84’), Balde; Casadó, Pedri (Fati 63’); Yamal (De Jong 75’), Raphinha, Ferran; Lewandowski (Víctor 75’)
Goals: Lewandowski (8’, 51’), Raphinha (34’), Iñigo (37’), Camara (OG 81’)
Young Boys: Keller; Blum (Athekame 58’), Camara, Zoukrou, Hadjam; Lauper; Monteiro, Imeri (Lakomy 82’), Ugrinic (Niasse 58’), Colley (Virginius 73’); Itten (Ganvoula 73’)
Goals: None
