European champions Barcelona did not break sweat as a goal in each half gave them a 2-0 win over Czech outfit Viktoria Plzen at Camp Nou.
Iniesta and Villa strike for Catalan giants
European champions Barcelona did not break sweat as a goal in each half gave them a 2-0 win over Czech outfit Viktoria Plzen at Camp Nou.
Barcelona, as you expect, played some scintillating football but their finishing was relatively poor as they did not wrap this match up until late in the second-half.
Andres Iniesta's side-footed finish opened the scoring, but it was not until David Villa fired home with eight minutes left that the result was put beyond doubt.
Viktoria were poor throughout and they did not manage a single shot or create a chance in the 90 minutes.
Barca's win moved them on to seven points, level with AC Milan at the top of Group H, with the two top places all but sewn up already.
Barca started quickly and Dani Alves should have put them in front but fired over the bar when through on goal.
In the 10th minute they were ahead, and in some style, as Iniesta and played two one-touch one-twos with Lionel Messi and, having got the ball back for the final time, flicked it inside a defender and slid a low finish inside the near post.
The holders were playing with their usual swagger as they threatened to overwhelm their opponents, but the finishing touch was missing more often than not.
Villa curled a 25-year-effort wide, while Messi reached the Spain forward's low ball into the area just ahead of his marker but, with little time to steady himself, dinked his shot straight at the chest of goalkeeper Marek Cech.
Pedro had a shot deflected wide with Cech diving the other way and Messi's aim was off again, bringing Sergio Busquets' flicked pass out of the air and turning inside a defender on the byline before pulling his shot into the side netting from a tight angle.
The Argentinian then curled a 30-yard free-kick which crashed back off a post as the Czechs survived until half-time just one goal behind.
Threat
Messi continued to be the main threat and he dribbled into the Plzen area, stayed on his feet when he was caught by sliding tackle from David Bystron and the barged through two more challenges before being crowded out.
The 24-year-old was leading the visitors' defence a merry dance, beating three players as he raced down the right and somehow kept the ball in play as he cut in along the byline before clipping a shot against the outside of the post.
He was enduring a rare frustrating night, though, just failing to connect with Alves' ball flashed across the face of goal.
There was a worry for Barca when Messi required treatment after taking a heavy hit to his Achilles, but he was okay to carry on.
Villa finally doubled Barca's lead in the 82nd minute, guiding home a loose ball after Messi had taken too long over his shot and been barged off the ball.
Pedro might have made it three at the death only to pass up the chance to shoot, instead looking to lay the ball off to Villa for a tap-in, but his pass was too strong and the chance passed.
| Barcelona |
Team Statistics |
Viktoria Plzen |
| 2 |
Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
0 |
| 11 |
Shots off Target |
0 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
0 |
| 7 |
Corners |
0 |
| 4 |
Fouls |
12 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
1 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 93.6 |
Passing Success |
73.6 |
| 15 |
Tackles |
23 |
| 73.3 |
Tackles Success |
78.3 |
| 77.4 |
Possession |
22.6 |
| 72.5 |
Territorial Advantage |
27.5 |
| 929 |
Total Passes |
254 |
| 8 |
Total Crosses |
5 |
| 110 |
Lost Balls |
114 |
| 46 |
Recoveries |
48 |
|
