Gerard Pique believes Barcelona were nervous and lost control as they narrowly held on for a 2-1 win over Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Lionel Messi had handed Ronald Koeman’s side the lead from the penalty spot after just five minutes before Pique doubled Barca’s lead with a header in the 65th minute.
Kyiv proved a dangerous opponent, however, and could have drawn level were it not for Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who made six fine saves across the 90 minutes.
Even more impressive was Dynamo’s 18-year-old keeper Ruslan Neshcheret, who made 12 saves that included an incredible diving effort to deny a Messi free-kick.
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Dynamo got a deserved goal in the 75th minute via Viktor Tsygankov to set up an interesting finish, with Pique admitting Barcelona were made to sweat for the victory.
“It went well in the first-half. Then the game went away from us, we lost control and we were nervous. They made things difficult for us. The best thing was the three points,” Pique told Movistar post-match.
“The club is in a process of many changes. I think it was necessary because our form was struggling. Every year we were a little worse. We know it’s not an easy year but we’ll try to compete every game.
“It is normal that we are not favourites in the Champions League after the last few years. All we can do is work. We have young players. The results will end up coming.”
Ter Stegen marked his return from injury with a fine performance between the sticks and though individually impressive, conceded Barcelona as a whole need to work on things.
“For me it was very important to win the match because I was looking forward to coming back and doing what I like the most,” Ter Stegen said. “We ended up suffering quite a bit in the second half. We generated some chances, we have to talk about it and improve.”
On his recent decision to re-sign with Barca, Ter Stegen added: “I have never had any hesitation in renewing with Barca. It was a matter of talking about it and the both of us, the club and me are happy.”
Despite the shaky nature of this recent performance, Koeman’s side have now won all three of their Champions League matches this season to take a commanding lead at the top of Group G.
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