History will record that Brestois took five games before experiencing the taste of defeat in the Champions League, and fell for the first time on the pitch of FC Barcelona. Tuesday, November 26, the Bretons were unable to do anything against the Blaugrana, confident of their strength and led by a Robert Lewandowski of great evenings. In all good moves, the Polish striker scored twice, with Dani Olmo taking care of scoring the third goal.
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With this defeat, Eric Roy's men slip to ninth in the standings, and are therefore no longer virtually qualified for the round of 16 of the competition. The fact remains that their ticket for the play-offs (also called the round of 32) seems practically certain since they need to finish between the 9e et 24e places. A mission far from accomplished for Paris Saint-Germain, who fell at the same time on the pitch of Bayern Munich (1-0). Parisians occupy an alarming 26e place with three games remaining at the end of the league stage.
What to remember from Barcelona-Brest:
At 22, Pedri looks more and more like a boss at Barcelona. The tireless midfielder once again shined in the Catalans' midfield, carrying out ball recoveries and brilliant passes towards his attackers. One of them also caused the penalty converted by Robert Lewandowski.
1-0, 10e : goalkeeper Marco Bizot completely misses his aerial exit, and hits Robert Lewandowski. The Pole gets up, takes the ball, and opens the scoring from the penalty spot with a flat foot.
2-0, 66e : Dani Olmo inherits the ball in the Brest area, and mystifies Brendan Chardonnet with a dribble, before scoring with the flat of his foot.
3-0, 90th: Robert Lewandowski achieves superb control in the Breton area, and organizes himself at full speed to arm a shot which lodges in the small net.
- The numbers. 100 et 101.
By converting the penalty that he himself had caused, Robert Lewandowski did not simply break the deadlock in a trap match. He also scored his 100e goal in the Champions League, becoming the third man in history to reach this mark – before surpassing it by scoring a second goal late in the match. The first two? Cristiano Ronaldo (141 goals) and Lionel Messi (129). In short, the Pole is in good company.
- The turning point of the match. Mathias Pereira Lage's goal, disallowed for offside.
Barça seemed to control the match from the first to the last minute, and it would have taken a lot of turns to imagine Brest returning from Catalonia with a draw or a victory. But this first spark could have come from Mathias Pereira Lage when the winger scored in the 76the minute, reducing the gap (2-1). A short-lived joy for the Bretons, since the Portuguese was rightly flagged in an offside position at the start of the action.
On our sports rating scale ranging from “A” to “E”, this Breton trip to Catalonia scores average, no more, no less. Because the step was undoubtedly too high for Eric Roy and his men, and therefore the spectacle too one-sided to really appreciate it.