Barcelona 2-1 Shakhtar: Barca Player Ratings as Ferran Torres stars in a comfortable win for Xavi's men | UEFA Champions League 2023-24
Barcelona bagged a 2-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, October 26.
Barca entered the match on the back of three wins and two draws in their last five outings. Interestingly, all three wins were by 1-0 margins, while both the draws were 2-2 draws, meaning they were all closely-contested affairs.
Xavi Hernandez looked to maximise his team's production in this competition as he went with a full-strength lineup, taking into account all the injuries.
Barcelona made a solid start to the contest and put Shakhtar on the back foot right from the opening stages. Despite not dominating possession, the hosts were clinical in the final third as they opened the scoring after 28 minutes.
Fermin Lopez made a great run into the box and his shot ricocheted off the crossbar and fell straight to Ferran Torres. He then scored with a first-time effort to make it 1-0. Lopez then got on the scoresheet with a thumping effort to grab a deserved goal for himself to make it 2-0 after 36 minutes.
Shakhtar had no reply for Barcelona's dominance in the first period as they trailed 2-0 at the interval.
The second period saw Barcelona continue their onslaught on Shakhtar's goal as they came out all guns blazing. This approach seemed to have worked as they appearaed to have tripled their lead, however the goal was ruled out. Shortly after, the visitors made things interesting as they made it 2-1 via Giorgiy Sudakov's timely finish.
Despite committing bodies forward and making changes at regular intervals, neither team was able to score again as the game ended 2-1.
On that note, let's take a look at Barca's player ratings.
Barcelona Player Ratings
Marc-Andre ter Stegen - 6.5/10
Ter Stegen had a rather calm night between the sticks for Barcelona as Shakhtar failed to threaten until midway through the second period.
Joao Cancelo - 7.5/10
Cancelo was extremely active on the overlap and constantly looked to burst forward. He won five duels, making two clearances and two interceptions. He also played three long balls and one key pass.
Ronald Araujo - 7/10
Araujo was a composed figure in Barca's defense and played well, making two clearances and three blocks. He also played one key pass and four long balls.
Inigo Martinez - 6.5/10
Martinez won two duels, making one clearance and one interception in a decent outing. He also played five long balls.
Marcos Alonso - 6.5/10
Alonso passed the ball with 89% accuracy, including one cross and three long balls. He also attempted one shot on target.
Fermin Lopez - 8/10
Lopez was a livewire in midfield and showed encouraging signs as he attempted shots from distance, even scoring from one of those. He attempted five shots, hitting the target just twice. Lopez also played three key passes and won seven duels.
Oriol Romeu - 7.5/10
Romeu looked solid in the middle of the park and had a good game. He passed the ball with 90% accuracy, including one key pass and two long balls. He also won eight duels.
Ilkay Gundogan - 7.5/10
Gundogan was composed with the ball at his feet and put in a good performance. He passed the ball with 91% accuracy, playing four key passes, four long balls and three crosses. He also won two duels.
Lamine Yamal - 7/10
Yamal had a great game with the ball, playing one key pass and winning five duels. However, he lacked accuracy in front of goal as he fired all five of his attempts off-target.
Ferran Torres - 8.5/10
Torres had a great game as he bagged a goal and an assist in the first half. He was also booked for a foul just before the break.
Joao Felix - 6.5/10
Felix suffered an injury scare in the second period and was replaced with Marc Guiu late on.
Substitutes
Alejandro Balde - 6.5/10
Balde replaced Alonso in the second half and played well, except for his booking for a poor foul.
Marc Guiu - 6.5/10
He replaced the injured Felix in the second half and put in a decent cameo.
Marc Casado, Andreas Christensen - N/A
The pair came on for Barcelona with little time on the clock and did not play enough minutes to warrant a rating.