Martin Braithwaite throws Barcelona very changed to the knockout stages of the Champions League

Four goals in the second half masked a lackluster performance as a much-changed Barcelona booked their place in the Champions League round of 16 with a 4-0 win at Dynamo Kiev.

While the victory sees Barça advance from the group stage for the 17th consecutive season, the result flattered Ronald Koeman’s side, which lacked creativity and intensity despite dominating possession in the absence of key players like Lionel Messi, Frenkie de Jong, Gerard Piqué and Sergio Busquets, rested or injured.

Only when the Dynamo Kiev began to tire and make individual mistakes did Barça begin to find a way. Danish forward Martin Braithwaite, an emergency signing in February, turned out to be the surprising hero of the night. He set up 20-year-old right-back Sergino Dest for his first goal for Barcelona in the 52nd minute before doubling the score in the 57th when he scored at the far post after rookie Oscar Mingueza headed into the corner of Carles Alena.

Then things got even better for Braithwaite when he safely scored a penalty in the 70th minute after Denys Popov shoved him from behind, before Antoine Griezmann added a fourth in injury time. Dynamo Kyiv prepared very defensively from the get-go, looking to threaten on the counterattack, with half chances for Carlos De Pena and Benjamin Verbic on either side of the break, but they were made to pay when Barcelona suddenly turned ruthless. In the second half.

The Ukrainian club will travel to play Juventus on December 2 as they look to qualify for the knockout stages of the Europa League now that their departure from the Champions League is confirmed. Barça left for Ferencvaros that same night.

Tuesday’s victory sees Barcelona win four out of four so far this season in the Champions League. Although they don’t have the toughest group overall, one of those wins was a 2-0 away win against Juventus. In stark contrast to that, they rank 13th in La Liga, 12 points behind surprise leader Real Sociedad and six behind staunch rival Real Madrid. The victory will do very little to offset the negativity engulfing the club at the moment.

Amid the backdrop of board-level infighting that caused Josep Maria Bartomeu to be forced to resign last month, Ronald Koeman’s reign so far has offered few signs of hope. His complicated relationship with star man Messi has made headlines, while a host of injury problems and dubious team selections have also contributed to the club’s worst start to La Liga in 25 years. Barcelona may be in a transition phase, but Koeman’s mismanagement of talented young midfielder Riqui Puig gives fans little confidence that he is the right man to nurture potentially world-class young talents like Ansu Fati, Francisco Trincao and Pedri.

Koeman has had a decent coaching career up to now, but it still puzzles why some of Europe’s best clubs hire coaches almost entirely based on nostalgia for his stellar playing career. The Dutchman will be very lucky if he remains in the post after the club’s presidential elections in January 2021.

Sergino Dest (Barcelona) – The Catalan club faced stiff competition from other European giants to secure the signing of the United States’ international right back and, despite being only 20 years old, has already begun to hold a starting position in the team, although sometimes as a left back when Sergi Roberto is able to play on the right. However, Roberto’s injury has given him a valuable opportunity to make the right back his own and he seized that opportunity with both hands on Tuesday. Although Dynamo Kiev did not offer much in attack, they remained on the defensive, while being a constant attacking threat that added another dimension to Barca’s game. A good performance culminated with the opening goal, the first for Barcelona when a play that began ended.

Dynamo Kiev: Buschan 4, Kedziora 5, Zabarnyi 4, Mykolenko 5, Karavaev 5, Shepelev 5, Buyalsky 6, Harmash 6, De Pena 7, Verbic 6, Shaparenko 5 … Subs: Popov 4, Andrievsky 5, Supriaga 5, Lednev 5, Baluta N / A

Barcelona: Ter Stegen 6, Junior 6, Lenglet 7, Mingueza 8, Dest 8, Alena 7, Pjanic 7, Pedri 6, Trincao 6, Coutinho 6, Braithwaite 8 … Subs: Alba 7, Puig 7, Griezmann 8, Fernandes 6, from the Source N / A

52 ‘- GOOOOAAALLLL !!! Finally some action and he’s a starter for Barcelona. Dest starts and ends the play when he receives the ball from Braithwaite in the area and finishes low in the left corner to give him his first goal for Barcelona and put them 1-0 ahead.

57 ‘- GOOOOAAAAALLL !!! The floodgates are open now! Alena throws a brilliant corner and rookie Mingueza heads to Braithwaite, who shows very good anticipation to grab the end and score at the far post. That is his first goal in a European competition and only the second for Barça!

69 ‘- PENALTY TO THE BOAT! A very easy decision for the referee to make when Popov shoves Braithwaite from behind as he heads the ball into Buschan’s hands.

70 ‘- GOOOAAAAALLL !!! Brilliant penalty from Braithwaite! He confidently throws it into the lower left corner for his second of the night and Barcelona’s third. It could be a great confidence booster for the Dane.

89 ‘- OPPORTUNITY! De la Fuente has tons of room to run and gives it to his international teammate Dest on the edge of the area, who has sprinted to join the attack. But it is unbalanced when it fires and opens wide.

90 + 2 ‘- GOOOOOLLLL !!! It was supposed to be a quiet night for Griezmann, but he couldn’t help but get involved! His compatriot Alba places him in the center of the area and, after a beautiful first touch, surpasses Buschan to inflict more misery on Lucescu’s men.