Barcelona

The Polish international broke a tie with Real Madrid's Karim Benzema for third place on the all-time Champions League goalscoring list.

Benzema, who is likely to win the Ballon d’Or this year, led the Champions League in scoring last season with 15 goals. He becomes the first player to score Champions League hat tricks for three different clubs (Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Barcelona). The €45 million transfer from Bayern Munich then added a second at the stroke of halftime.

FC Barcelona's official stores recently experienced an unusual situation as the fans could not purchase the new home shirt due to lack of stocks. It's been ...

Barcelona were made aware of the situation and the initial forecast was to make everything available until October. Boosted by the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha among others, the stocks were sold out in the Spotify Camp Nou store a few days back. FC Barcelona’s official stores recently experienced an unusual situation as the fans could not purchase the new home shirt due to lack of stocks.

A little over twenty minutes into the second half, the Poland captain completed his hat-trick to make it 4-1. Substitute Ferran Torres added the icing on the ...

We have to leave our soul on the pitch.” In response, he said: “We are part of society, and we cannot be different to anyone else. Everything was done well, and the understanding of the match was good.” However, Xavi urged that the team still have a long way to go before they are truly back. “The partnership between Lewandowski and Pedri is very exciting. However, he also had some advice for the latter to improve his game. The 42-year-old was also impressed by the performances of the substitutes on the night. “I liked the performance of the substitutes. Xavi even went on to compare Dembele to Neymar, saying: “Dembele is at the same level as the best Neymar. He’s a marvellous person and professional, really,” he later added in the press conference. But not only that, he plays and he makes the team play. He knows the third man, and reads space to perfection.

WHAT HAPPENED? It has been more than a year since Messi left Camp Nou, with the Argentine subsequently signing for Paris Saint-Germain, but Xavi feels that ...

THE BIGGER PICTURE: There is little doubt that Barca have struggled to replace Messi, as they went trophyless in the 2021-22 campaign. However, now there are other players who are destined to make history, but it won’t be easy," the Barcelona manager has told reporters. However, they bought seven players this summer, including Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde and Raphinha, in an attempt to re-establish themselves as one of the best clubs in the world.

More recently, they offloaded Arthur to Juventus in a deal that can only be described as a bit of creative accounting, before selling Philippe Coutinho at a ...

The Polish star was spectacular in his first Champions League game since making the move from Bayern Munich, scoring a hat-trick to lead Barcelona past Viktoria ...

But given what Barcelona fans have had to watch the last few years, this was a refreshing scene. Are Barcelona patient enough to give it to him given the embarrassment of riches in the attack? He was active, sure, but Fati was also wasteful, squandering several chances with poor shots.

The Catalans are off to a strong start in the Champions League.

Of course there will be changes for the trip to Germany. There were plenty of positives for Barcelona in their win over Viktoria Plzen but the real test will come next week against Bayern. Sevilla also had plenty of joy getting in behind at the weekend before being overpowered by Barca’s riches in attack. Xavi’s always backed Ferran and Wednesday’s showing will have offered the 22-year-old a much-needed confidence boost. Lewandowski also impresses with his work-rate, desire, link-up play and his presence also seems to raise the level of his team-mates. Dembele’s scooped pass was rather special but there was still a lot of work to do. Ousmane Dembele is also looking in fine form ahead of the trip to Germany. He’s already added so much to Barcelona in his short time at the club and it’s obvious that having such a ruthless, clinical presence in attack makes life so much easier. And you get the feeling there’s still more to come from Dembele. It will also be interesting to see what happens with Ferran Torres after a lively cameo on Wednesday night. Robert Lewandowski continued his incredible goalscoring form with a hat-trick for Barcelona in another classy performance. The coach admitted as much after the match but did warn against overconfidence.

Franck Kessie scored the opener after receiving his first official start for the club before Robert Lewandowski doubled the lead. The visitors soon pulled one ...

It would have been wise for the manager to give him a rest by taking him off early in the second half. The winger is a vital part of Xavi’s plans and will have a big role to play week in and week out. The fact that Robert Lewandowski needed just five games to score his first hat-trick for Barcelona is incredible. Plzen never had a chance on the night, and Barcelona were going for blood. The team sorely missed Pedri through injury last season, and Xavi cannot afford to lose him again through mismanagement. On the night, Xavi’s side recorded 76% possession including a whopping 81% in the first half.

Get a report of the Barcelona vs. Viktoria Plzen 2022-23 UEFA Champions League, Group Stage football match.

He scored twice before half-time, either side of a [Jan Sykora](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/222610/jan-sykora) goal that temporarily restored Plzen's hopes of getting something from the game. Plzen will meet Group C's final team, Inter Milan, on the same day. The man who set up that effort, Torres, then got a goal of his own with an unstoppable volley from Dembele's chipped ball over the defense. The Czech champions were awarded a penalty in the 24th minute only to have it overturned after VAR flagged that Everyone was really up for it." The [Poland](/soccer/team?id=471) striker now has eight goals in five games for Barcelona since arriving from [Bayern Munich](/soccer/team?id=132) in the summer. After a run through the middle from We were the superior team and I'm delighted with the players who came off the bench as well as those who started. He also became the first player in the competition's history to score hat tricks for three different clubs. [Jhon Mosquera](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/193478/jhon-mosquera)'s elbow had struck Barcelona defender [Andreas Christensen](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/186430/Andreas-Christensen) in the face before the Plzen forward was brought down in front of goal. [Ferran Torres](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/265869/ferran-torres) put the final polish on the scoreline with an emphatic volley. [Franck Kessie](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/194711/franck-kessie) put Barcelona in front in the 13th minute, Lewandowski took over.

Despite the new players, which include world-class striker Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona manager Xavi doesn't believe that the Spanish club is done mourning ...

The Spanish club hoped to close the Lionel Messi chapter this summer. A Messi return to Barcelona as a visitor would be the marquee matchup many in the football world will want to see and give many shows across the world plenty to discuss should it happen. Barcelona was one of the busiest clubs this summer, spending money left and right to rebuild its squad that could be one of the best in Europe.

Messi joined PSG in 2021 · Barca had eventful transfer window to fill void · Xavi hopeful new players can put club back on top.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: There is little doubt that Barca have struggled to replace Messi, as they went trophyless in the 2021-22 campaign. However, now there are other players who are destined to make history, but it won’t be easy," the Barcelona manager has told reporters. However, they bought seven players this summer, including Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde and Raphinha, in an attempt to re-establish themselves as one of the best clubs in the world.