Crvena Zvezda vs Barcelona, Champions League: Match Thread ...

67’ SUBSTITUTION: Barça lose Pau Cubarsí to a freak injury as the young center-back is kicked in the face by Red Star captain Uros Spajic and appears to suffer a facial fracture. There was quite a bit of desperation by his teammates when it first happened, but Cubarsí was able to walk out under his own power.

55’ GOAL!!!! Red Star 1-4 Barcelona (Raphinha): IT’S FOUR!!!! Barça triple the lead in a space of two minutes as Kounde gets his second assist of the night with a perfect pass to find Raphinha, who places a gorgeous shot from the edge of the box into the bottom corner!

53’ GOAL!!! Red Star 1-3 Barcelona (Lewandowski): BARÇA DOUBLE THE LEAD!!! A perfectly crafted counter-attack started by Lamine Yamal ends with an assist from Jules Kounde and a far post tap-in by Lewandowski!

SECOND HALF KICKOFF! Red Star 1-2 Barcelona: Back underway in Belgrade!

HALFTIME, Red Star 1-2 Barcelona: Barça go into the break with the lead after a period in which they dominated and should have been up by more than just one goal, but Red Star scored with their only chance and showed resilience to still be alive at halftime.

43’ GOAL!!!! Red Star 1-2 Barcelona (Lewandowski): BARÇA RETAKE THE LEAD!!! Raphinha fires a rocket against the post and Robert Lewandowski is quickest to the rebound to tap it in!

27’ GOAL, Red Star 1-1 Barcelona (Silas): Red Star equalize as Silas is played through on goal and lobs the ball past Iñaki Peña to find the net.

13’ GOAL!!!! Red Star 0-1 Barcelona (Iñigo): BARÇA TAKE THE LEAD!!! Raphinha sends a free-kick into the box and Iñigo Martínez heads it into the ground and onto the net!

4’ GOAL DISALLOWED: Red Star take the lead through Timi Elsnik, but the goal is ruled out for offside.

KICKOFF! Red Star 0-0 Barcelona: And we’re underway in Belgrade!

WELCOME TO THE RAJKO MITIC STADIUM!!!! This historic venue in the capital of Serbia, also known as Marakana, is the site of a huge Champions League clash between hosts Crvena Zvezda (or Red Star Belgrade) and Barcelona, who come into this one looking for their third straight win in the League Phase as they fight for a place in the Top 8. But it won’t be easy against one of the most hostile atmospheres in all of world football, and Barça must be ready for a battle. This should be fun, and you’re welcome to join us to follow and comment all the action. Vamos!

(Note: the comments will be opened only when the team news come out, because our commenter people love commenting and sometimes there are too many comments in the comments section)

BARCELONA

Starting XI: Peña; Kounde, Cubarsí, Iñigo, Martín; Casadó, De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha (4-3-3)

Substitutes: Szczesny (GK), Astralaga (GK), Domínguez, Fort, Balde, Gavi, Fermín, Torre, Olmo, Fati, Víctor

CRVENA ZVEZDA

Starting XI: Ilic; Seol, Spajic, Djiga, Rodic; Kanga, Elsnik, Krunic; Silas, Ndiaye, Maksimovic (4-3-3)

Substitutes: Draskic (GK), Gutesa (GK), Katai, Gomes, Lekovic, Milson, Ilic, Dkrusic, Prutsev

Competition/Round: 2024-25 UEFA Champions League, League Phase, Matchday 4

Date/Time: Wednesday, November 6, 2024, 9pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8pm GMT (UK), 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 1.30am IST (India, Thursday)

Venue: Stadion Rajko Mitić, Belgrade, Serbia

Referee: Espen Eskås (NOR)

VAR: Marco Di Bello (ITA)

On TV: Not Available (USA), TNT Sports 6 (UK), SONY TEN 5 (India), SuperSport (Nigeria), Movistar (Spain), others

Online: Paramount+ (USA), discovery+ (UK), Movistar+ (Spain), others

We don’t have a lot of rules here, but there are a few things to keep in mind when joining our matchday threads:

Even if the referee sucks or we lose the game, watch the swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do it will be warned, and those who post links will be instantly banned. Finally, be nice to each other. This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another.

Have fun with the game! Forever and ever, no matter the competition, VISCA EL BARÇA!