History will remember that Brestois took five games before feeling the taste of defeat in the Champions League and fell for the first time on the FC Barcelona pitch. On Tuesday, November 26, the Bretons could do nothing against the Blaugrana, confident in their strength and led by a Robert Lewandowski of great evenings. In all the good plays, the Polish striker scored two goals, with Dani Olmo being in charge of scoring the third goal.
With this defeat, Eric Roy’s men fall to ninth position in the standings and, therefore, are practically no longer qualified for the round of 16 of the competition. The truth is that their ticket for the play-offs (also called round of 32) seems practically safe, since they need to finish among the 9my and 24my places. 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 26my place with three days left to finish the league phase.
What to remember from Barcelona-Brest:
At 22 years old, Pedri looks more and more like a boss at Barcelona. The tireless midfielder once again shone in the Barça midfield, making ball recoveries and brilliant passes towards his attackers. One of them also caused the penalty converted by Robert Lewandowski.
1-0, 10my : 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 his flat foot.
2-0, 66my : Dani Olmo inherits the ball in the Brest area and disconcerts Brendan Chardonnet with a dribble before scoring with the sole of his foot.
3-0, 90th: Robert Lewandowski gains magnificent control in the Breton area and organizes himself at full speed to put together a shot that lodges in the small net.
- The numbers. 100 and 101.
By converting the penalty he himself had caused, Robert Lewandowski did not simply break the deadlock in a trap match. He also got his 100my goal in the Champions League, becoming only 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. Goal by Mathias Pereira Lage, disallowed for offside.
Barça seemed to control the match from the first to the last minute, and it would have taken many twists 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 76th minute.my minute, reducing the difference (2-1). A short-lived joy for the Bretons, since the Portuguese was correctly flagged in an offside position at the start of the action.
On our sports rating scale that goes from “A” to “E”, this Breton trip to Catalonia obtains an average score, no more and no less. Because the pace was certainly too high for Eric Roy and his men, and therefore the spectacle too one-sided to truly appreciate.
