FC Barcelona v. Plzen (5-1): DEMBELE AND LEWANDOWSKI IGNITE Champions League Season Opener!

The Barca Breakdown discussed the champions league season opener against Plzen with goals from Lewandowski and Dembele. While Barca fell in the Group of Death (again), Plzen were the least threatening. However, Barca could not afford to lose points in the group as Barca will play Bayern Munich and Inter Milano. The Bayern game is next Tuesday and it's safe to say Xavi wants his most trusted starting XI ready and rested.

So in today's game, we saw an interesting line-up which included Alba and Roberto as fullbacks, Frenkie, Pedri, and Kessie in the midfield, and Fati with his first start alongside Dembele and Lewandowski. The game opened up a little rusty, with Barca losing the ball which led to some fast breaks for Plzen. After a few close calls from Plzen, Barca adjusted. Suddenly, Barca were on the ball consistently and maintained possession in the attacking half. Plzen became helpless as they scrambled to cover the gaps in their defense. The game exploded wide open after Dembele's corner came soaring to Kounde. Kounde headed the ball to Kessie and Kessie put the goal away. The next 3 goals came from a hattrick by none other than Robert Lewandowski! His assists came from Roberto, Dembele, and Ferran Torres. The last goal was scored by Torres with an assist from Demebele. Overall, Lewandsowki and Dembele were equally magnificent in the Champions League opener.

The team was able to dominate possession and capitalize on Plzen's mistakes. The Barca squad also put in high effort offensively and defensively, constantly looking to score and get the ball back. While the Barca squad did a fantastic job, it must be said that Plzen did not perform very well. They clearly could not match the caliber of Barca and were not prepared. Despite this, Barca put out a completely dominant performance and should be applauded for their hard work! The Breakdown looks to the weekend as we play Cadiz and next week's Champions League game in Munich.