Robert Lewandowski scored his first hat-trick for Barcelona in a dominant 5-1 win over Viktoria Plzen to kick off their Champions League campaign.
Barcelona’s three first-half goals were more than they scored in the entire group stage last season (two), when they were dumped into the Europa League, but tougher tests await.
Plzen had chances against a shaky Barcelona defense, with Jan Sykora scoring just before halftime, but the hosts were already ahead thanks to Franck Kessie and Lewandowski, who made it 3-1 on the stroke of halftime.
Although the pace slowed slightly after the break, Barcelona remained dominant, and Lewandowski became the first player to score a Champions League hat-trick with three different teams before Ferran Torres joined in.
Barca took an early lead when Jules Kounde’s header from a corner set up Kessie to nod in on his debut for the club.
Plzen appeared to have equalized when Andreas Christensen tripped Jhon Mosquera in the box, but a foul on the Dane was spotted after a VAR review.
Soon after, Lewandowski ruthlessly found the bottom-right corner from 20 yards out, extending the reprieve.
Plzen appeared to be within striking distance at the break after Sykora converted from close range, but the excellent Ousmane Dembele teed up a stooping Lewandowski header to quickly restore the two-goal lead.
Ansu Fati sliced wide in the first minute of a second half that was significantly less intense, but his wastefulness was insignificant.
After a neat interchange with Torres, Lewandowski increased the deficit and completed his hat-trick with another sumptuous 20-yard finish.
The Spaniard then completed the scoring with a thumping strike from Dembele’s cross.
What does it imply? Barcelona is beginning to right wrongs.
Barcelona’s Champions League campaign last season was abysmal; while they were in the same group as Bayern Munich, they finished below Benfica. The only team they defeated was Dynamo Kyiv.
Granted, their group this season is even tougher because Bayern Munich and Inter Milan are the other two teams Barcelona will face, but this was clearly a much better performance than they produced against anyone in 2021-22. By no means was this a season-defining performance, but the fact that Barcelona made it look so easy shows progress.
Dembele ousts the class
Although Lewandowski’s treble will undoubtedly get the most attention, Dembele was the best player on the field.
His five key passes – and two assists – were match highs, but he was an all-around terror. A fantastic performance.
Fati regaining his footing
Following Fati’s injury problems, Xavi has been patient with him this season. This was his first start of the season, and as one might expect, there was some rustiness on display.
Despite the fact that none of his four shots were on goal, Barcelona will be relieved to see him come through the game unscathed, and he was lively in the first half.
Important Opta Facts
- Barcelona has now won their first match in 19 of their 27 Champions League campaigns (D6 L2), with tonight marking the fifth time they have scored five goals in the tournament.
- Plzen have never won their first Champions League game in any of their four seasons (D2 L2).
- Lewandowski has scored 32 goals in his last 20 Champions League group stage matches, scoring in only three of them.
- In his sixth appearance, Kessie scored his first Champions League goal (five for Milan, one for Barcelona). He is only the fourth African to score for Barcelona in the competition.
- Lewandowski is the competition’s oldest debutant to score (34y 17d) for a new club since Mathieu Valbuena for Olympiakos in September 2019. (34y 355d).
What comes next?
Barcelona travels to Bayern Munich on Tuesday, when Lewandowski returns to the Allianz Arena, while Plzen hosts Inter on the same day.