Barcelona vs Shakhtar: Youngsters shine again as Xavi's team rack up points

20-year-old midfielder Fermin Lopez grabbed what became the winning goal for Barcelona against Shakhtar Donetsk days after the even younger Marc Guiu gave the Blaugrana the win over Athletic Club, rewarding Xavi Hernandez, who continues to bet on La Masia talents.

Barcelona took a step further in reaching their initial UCL ambitions this season, as stated by Xavi: to qualify from the group. They hosted the Ukrainian side Shakhtar at Montjuic and sent them back home empty-handed.

Given the extensive injury issues embattling the Blaugrana squad, Xavi had to rely on youngsters to get him the points against a Shakhtar Donetsk side who bore the threat of ‘new manager bounce as they appointed Marino Pušić as new coach less than 48 hours before the Champions League tie.

The nigh-second-string Barcelona team made an adequate account of themselves from the jump, pressing high against their visitor’s backline and creating goalscoring chances.

They were rewarded for their industry in the 28th minute of the encounter when Gundogan’s chipped pass set Fermin Lopez one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The youngster crashed the bar with his attempt, but Ferran Torres was on hand to turn in the rebound. 

There was a brief VAR check to determine the validity of the goal, as Fermin was thought to be initially offside, but the technology confirmed the goal as legal.

The youngster got his name on the scoresheet in the 36th minute when he fired a stunner into the top right corner, doubling Barcelona’s advantage.

The hosts dropped intensity at the start of the second half and their Ukrainian visitors pounced, creating chances of their own. They eventually pulled one back around the hour mark thanks to a Georgiy Sudakov strike. 

Both teams pressed to improve the scoreline in their favour, but the result stayed the same. Barcelona stay top of the group and move a step towards the next round of the competition.