Barcelona: Pep Guardiola's 200th match in charge of Barcelona was celebrated in emphatic style with a 4-0 win over Viktoria Plzen in Prague on Tuesday evening, as the European champions qualified for the knockout stages.
Two first half goals from Lionel Messi gave the Catalan giants a comfortable lead, with the dismissal of Plzen's Marian Cisovsky aiding their cause. Once Plzen went down to 10 men it became less a case of whether Barca would win but more a case of how many they would win by, and Messi completed his hat-trick, with Cesc Fabregas also finding the net.
Plzen started the game full of running and really tried to take the game to their illustrious opposition. Barcelona seemed content to let the home side dictate the tempo in the game's opening exchanges, only really starting to move the ball well after 10 minutes of play.
Petrzela burst through a static Barca backline only to be thwarted by Victor Valdes, who produced a strong left-handed save to stop Plzen from taking a surprise lead. Daniel Kolar then wasted another chance for Plzen blazing a half-volley high and wide after being found in space inside the box.
Barcelona should have been given a penalty after a foul on Cesc Fabregas after 12 minutes only for the referee Robert Schorgenhofer to wave their appeals away. Ten minutes later, Schorgenhofer's assistants appeared to intervene and award a spot-kick after Lionel Messi's legs were swept from beneath him by Marian Cisovsky after the Argentine had jinked his way into the area. Cisovsky saw red for the foul, before Messi confidently dispatched the penalty low to Roman Pavlik's right.
Following the sending off the atmosphere in the Synot Tip Arena quickly grew hostile, with every Barcelona touch being greeted with jeers by the home fans. The away side began to toy with their opponents, exploiting the gaps created by Cisovsky's dismissal. Messi came close to adding a second, drawing a fantastic save
After threatening to score a second, he then did. Playing a delightful one-two with Adriano, Messi received the return pass inside the area before sliding his finish past a despairing Pavlik in the Plzen goal.
The second half was exhibition-like at times with Barca afforded so much space with Plzen down to 10 men. Fabregas nearly added a third with a delicate chip that drifted just wide and then Messi forced a fantastic save from Pavlik from a free-kick.
Petrzela then nearly reduced the deficit for Plzen, completely against the run of play. The Plzen striker could only lash his volley into the side netting from a tight angle after being found at the back post by Kolar. This seemed to spark the champions into life however, as they immediately launched a blistering counter-attack that nearly resulted in a goal. Thiago Alacantara flicking a header over Pavlik but onto the crossbar.
Fabregas made it 3-0 on 71 minutes with a rare headed goal. It was difficult for Fabregas to miss such was the quality of Isaac Cuenca's cross from the right-hand side. Messi then completed his hat-trick with a well taken finish after rounding Pavlik.
The match finished 4-0, meaning Barcelona advance to the knockout stages despite having two group games left to play. This will allow Guardiola to rest players when the group games commence in February, and focus on Barcelona's domestic competitions. Plzen meanwhile now lie rock bottom of the group, with just one point, making it impossible for the Czech team to now advance to the next stage.
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