November 23 v Benfica: Huge day!
Everything worked out for FC Barcelona in Wednesday’s Champions League matches. Not only did they collect a vital 1-0 victory in Kiev, but Bayern Munich did the team a huge favour by beating Benfica 5-2.
The result means Bayern are already through to the next round with 12 points out of 12, but Barça are second with six, Benfica have four and Dynamo are almost mathematically out of it with one.
November 23 is the day
That means the Barça v Benfica tie at Camp Nou is set to decide everything. A win for Barça, and they are through to the last sixteen whatever happens.
A draw would leave Barça needing to win in Munich on the final day to be absolutely certain of qualification, although the result of that game wouldn’t matter if Benfica were to fail to defeat Dynamo in Lisbon.
Meanwhile, a win for Benfica at Camp Nou would leave the Catalans in all sorts of difficulty. They’d need to win in Munich and hope Benfica lose at home to Dynamo.
Looking better
Things are looking a whole lot better for Barça after losing their first two fixtures, 3-0 at home to Bayern and by the same score in Portugal. Only 8% of teams that have lost their first two Champions League games have ever gone on to qualify. Barça could add their name to the select list. It all depends on the Camp Nou on November 23.