Barcelona almost confirmed their spot in the RO16 after defeating Shakhtar Donetsk by 2-1 at home

Barcelona took another step towards the Round Of 16 of the Champions League 2023-24 as they beat Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday. Ferran Torres and Fermin Lopez scored the goals as Barcelona acquired all nine points from their first three matches in Europe's top competition. 

Heorhiy Sudakov scored in the second half to make a come back into the game but Barcelona held on in the final stages and tried to score more goals to extend the lead. The did score 2 more goals but those were ruled offside. 

Barcelona started well, pressing high, and could have taken the lead when Fermin's shot was saved after good footwork in the box. The opener eventually came in the 28th minute when Ferran scored on rebound after Fermin hit the woodwork. 

Fermin showed the world why Xavi believed him at such a young age. He rifled the second goal with a stunning strike in the 36th minute, his first Champions League goal in his first start in the competition.

With Pedri, Robert Lewandowski, Frenkie de Jong, Jules Kounde, Raphinha and Sergi Roberto all missing through injury, plus Gavi through suspension, it was Fermin who showed his quality here.

Fermin and Ferran both had goals ruled out for offside, while the former also hit the woodwork again in the second half. Shakhtar got back into the game when they exposed Joao Cancelo, with Oriol Romeu unable to keep up with Sudakov, who beat Marc-Andre ter Stegen on the near post. 

There were nervy moments at both ends in the final stages but no more goals came as Barcelona took another huge step towards their return to the Champions League knockouts.