“Barcelona secured their place in the Champions League knockout stages without Lionel Messi for the first time. They clinched a 2-1 victory over Porto on Tuesday, thanks to goals from João Félix and João Cancelo.
This win propelled Barcelona to 12 points, three ahead of both Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk. Shakhtar also won 1-0 against Antwerp earlier in the day. Despite falling behind to a goal by Pepê in the 30th minute, Barcelona swiftly responded, with Cancelo scoring just two minutes later and Félix adding another in the 57th minute.
Marc-André ter Stegen, Barcelona’s goalkeeper, missed the game due to a back issue, leading to Iñaki Peña taking his place. Meanwhile, 17-year-old American goalkeeper Diego Kochen, developed in Barcelona’s youth academy, was listed as a reserve.
Sergi Roberto made a comeback to the squad after an absence of almost eight weeks. Barcelona had faced challenges in recent matches, including a 1-0 loss to Shakhtar in their previous Champions League game and a 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano in their latest La Liga fixture.
Source: Marzuuq Issah | Ghana360news.com
