Barcelona, already eliminated from the group stage of the Champions League, will end its participation this year in the top European competition with a visit to Viktoria Pilsen on Tuesday (9:00 p.m.). He will do it without Robert Lewandowski, with back pain, and with the only incentive of achieving a victory that would mean 2.8 million euros in income for the Barça club.
The match between Viktoria Pilsen and Barcelona, corresponding to the last day of the Champions League group stage, will be played this Tuesday, November 1 at 9:00 p.m. The match can be seen on TV by Movistar Champions League and can also be followed live on the La Vanguardia website. You can also check the rest of the matches of the day, the calendar and the classification of the Champions League.
Xavi Hernández's team will play at the Doosan Arena in Pilsen with the intention of helping the entity's battered coffers and taking another step in the psychological recovery after the agonizing victory over the weekend against Valencia (0-1) in the league. The Champions League awards 2.8 million euros for each win in the group stage -until now, Barça has precisely only defeated Viktoria Pilsen at the Spotify Camp Nou- and 930,000 euros for each draw, an amount that he added against Inter Milan at the Camp Nou. A draw with the flavor of defeat since that day Xavi Hernández's men practically confirmed the premature elimination.
Xavi will make up a starting eleven with less usual players and thus rest the players with the most minutes ahead of the two League games that remain before the break for the World Cup against Almería and Osasuna. In addition, Saturday's match at Mestalla left central defenders Eric Garcia and Jules Koundé out of action. The Spaniard has an overload in the external obturator of the left hip and the Frenchman also suffers from an overload, in his case in the biceps femoris of his left leg.
The other casualties are central defenders Ronald Araújo and Andreas Christensen, winger Sergi Roberto and striker Memphis Depay. In addition, midfielder Sergio Busquets did not travel to the Czech Republic either because he is suspended for card accumulation. Thus, Xavi only has Gerard Piqué at his disposal as the only central defender in the first team.
These eight casualties forced the Barça coach to have players from the subsidiary. Full-back Álex Valle, midfielders Marc Casadó and Álvaro Sanz, and striker Ilias Akhomach entered the squad list.
For Viktoria Pilsen, who have not yet managed to score points and have been the team with the most goals in the history of the Champions League, the game offers them the possibility of gaining experience against one of the greats of European football. "The experience we gained in the Champions League we later moved it to the league and you can see it on the pitch", summarizes Eric Jirka, Pilsen's offensive defender, after passing through the top European club tournament this season.
Undefeated in the league championship, with 35 points out of 39 disputed, the team led by Michal Bilek wants to be back in Europe next year, so the poor result in this Champions League is something that the coach and the players want build."Of course, it doesn't help us to play against players of incredible quality," continues Jirka, who scored two goals on Saturday against Zlín, confirming his team's leadership.
A team where Colombian midfielder Jhon Mosquera also stands out, one of the team's top league scorers with 6 goals, but who has not yet made his debut in Europe. And a box with a modest budget in which attacking midfielder Adam Vlkanova continues to stand out for his showy and incisive game, who will try to say goodbye with a good image.
Viktoria Pilsen: Stanek; Hejda, Pernica, Tijani; Havel, Bucha, Kalvach, Mosquera; Jirka, Vlkanova; y Bassey.
Barcelona: Iñaki Peña; Bellerin, Pique, Marcos Alonso, Jordi Alba; Kessie, Casado, Pablo Torre; Raphinha, Ansu Fati and Ferran.
Referee: Radu Petrescu (RUM).
Estadio: Doosan Arena.
