One of most annoying victories Barcelona have had. The conditions at Stade Louis II Stadium weren't favorable as it was raining and pitch wasn't up to the standards. Shakhtar were well planted in their own half. These two factors combined made it hard for Pep's team to find a way towards the goal.
Most of the times we were forced to shoot from outside the box. Henry's shot came close but it went over the crossbar. Messi shot too but their GK saved it. Things became frustrating for us in second half. Players like Ibrahimovic and Alves kicked the ball wide in frustration. While Messi and Srna got in a clash.
On the other hand, Shakhtar were looking for us to make a mistake and capitalize on it. They defended in numbers. They however didn't got much opportunities infront of our goal.
The game ended 0-0 in normal time. Therefore Extra Time of 30 minutes was to be played to decide the better of the two sides. Pep's speech from normal time break is one of highlights from the match. It roughly goes as following;
"Secure the pass. Don't take risks on the defense. Do it well. As always, play to maintain the ball and go on. Our way.. All of you before the ball. They are waiting for a counter attack and they wont change. So more than ever.. Our way.. Have the ball. If we have the ball we know what to do. We can score in 30 minutes, Dont Worry! Do what you know, with patience. Dont go crazy about it that they will kill us. Move, Move and move, create a constant situation of danger. open the field, primarily seek the sides, space would open in the middle. Ok Gentlemen, let's do it!"
It was Pedro, a young player from our academy, who was subbed in for Zlatan at 81st min, became star of the show. He passed the ball to Leo from edge of the box, and made a quick run towards the middle and soon he received the pass back to score the winner for us. With this Pedro went on to become a player who scored in all 6 competitions.
