Barcelona 5-1 Viktoria Plzen: Lewandowski hits hat-trick in comfortable opening win

Robert Lewandowski scored a brilliant hat-trick as Barcelona eased to a win that was both expected and impressive in a game where Plzen were blown away by their hosts’ creativity and speed. Barca got after Plzen from the off and on 13 minutes went ahead when Franck Kessie nodded home after Jules Kounde won first contact following a corner. Ad At that point, it looked like a case of how many, but when Jhon Mosquera spun Andreas Christensen and Christensen pulled him down, the ref pointed to the spot and drew his red card.

But a look at VAR showed Christensen’s foul to have followed Mosquera’s elbow, so the decision was reversed. LigaLewandowski scores again as Barca heap more pressure on Lopetegui03/09/2022 AT 18:00 Shortly afterwards, a lovely finish from Lewandowski put Barca 2-0 up, and though Jan Sykora pulled one back for Plzen, Lewandowski headed his second and his team’s third in first-half injury-time, following great work from Ousmane Dembele. You feared for Plzen when they emerged after the break, and sure enough, brilliant goals by Lewandowski and Torres, on as sub, put them further behind.

But that was last of the scoring, though you suspect there will be other teams who feel the force of Barca’s attack this season. Champions League tables Champions League fixtures/results Champions League top scorers TALKING POINT Ousmane Dembele is one of the most exciting, explosive young players this correspondent has ever seen, as obvious a superstar as there can possibly be. But things have not gone well in recent times, injuries and general upheaval stunting his development.