Match ends, BATE Borisov 0, Barcelona 2.
Ivan Rakitic helps Barcelona to victory at BATE Borisov
- From the section European Football
Ivan Rakitic scored his first two goals of the season as Champions League holders Barcelona beat BATE Borisov to go top of Group E by three points.
A dominant Barca had 74% possession and 21 shots in Belarus, where Luis Suarez and Neymar forced early saves.
Rakitic, who replaced the injured Sergi Roberto after 18 minutes, found the top corner from 20 yards after half-time.
Neymar made the opener and created Rakitic's coolly taken second with a slick pass.
Luis Enrique's side host BATE - crowned champions of Belarus for a 10th straight season at the weekend - in their next game on 4 November.
Any upset looks unlikely on this showing and the Catalan club's progress could be all but guaranteed by victory if Roma and Bayer Leverkusen draw on the same night.
Even without the injured Lionel Messi, Luis Enrique's side created a host of chances but goalkeeper Sergey Chernik kept them at bay until Rakitic scored his first club goal since last season's Champions League final.
Neymar, influential throughout, could not add to his tally of five goals in his past two games as he was denied by a series of blocks and Chernik's saves.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique: "This can be a turning point.
"We have been on a run where it has been difficult for us to score and we have suffered at the back with the little that we have been threatened.
"You always need to improve. It was not as though we were so bad but we needed to change.
"We have created a lot of chances to score but we continued with the same run we have had all season where we have not finished them off."
Line-ups
BATE Borisov
- 16Chernik
- 33PolyakovBooked at 29mins
- 3GayduchikBooked at 61mins
- 19MilunovicBooked at 83mins
- 25Mladenovic
- 8VolodkoBooked at 88mins
- 10NikolicSubstituted forYablonskiat 66'minutes
- 22Stasevich
- 62Gordeychuk
- 42VolodkoBooked at 43minsSubstituted forKarnitskiat 62'minutesBooked at 82mins
- 13SignevichSubstituted forMozolevskiat 80'minutes
Substitutes
- 5Yablonski
- 7Karnitski
- 9Aleksievich
- 17Rios
- 18Mozolevski
- 34Soroko
- 55Baga
Barcelona
- 1ter Stegen
- 6Alves da SilvaBooked at 41mins
- 3Piqué
- 15Bartra
- 18Alba
- 20Roberto CarnicerSubstituted forRakiticat 18'minutes
- 14Mascherano
- 5BusquetsBooked at 23minsSubstituted forGumbauat 73'minutesBooked at 74mins
- 17El HaddadiSubstituted forRamírezat 70'minutes
- 9Suárez
- 11Neymar
Substitutes
- 4Rakitic
- 13Bravo
- 19Ramírez
- 21Correia
- 23Vermaelen
- 24Mathieu
- 28Gumbau
- Referee:
- Manuel Jorge De Sousa
- Attendance:
- 13,074
Match Stats
Home TeamBATE BorisovAway TeamBarcelona
- Possession
- Home26%
- Away74%
- Shots
- Home4
- Away21
- Shots on Target
- Home1
- Away6
- Corners
- Home0
- Away9
- Fouls
- Home20
- Away6
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, BATE Borisov 0, Barcelona 2.
Gerard Gumbau (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Igor Stasevich (BATE Borisov).
Attempt missed. Sandro Ramírez (Barcelona) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Gerard Gumbau.
Javier Mascherano (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Dmitri Mozolevski (BATE Borisov).
Attempt missed. Neymar (Barcelona) right footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Luis Suárez.
Offside, BATE Borisov. Igor Stasevich tries a through ball, but Dmitri Mozolevski is caught offside.
Booking
Aleksandr Volodko (BATE Borisov) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Neymar (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Aleksandr Volodko (BATE Borisov).
Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Aleksandr Karnitski (BATE Borisov).
Neymar (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Dmitri Mozolevski (BATE Borisov).
Gerard Gumbau (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Evgeni Yablonski (BATE Borisov).
Booking
Nemanja Milunovic (BATE Borisov) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Luis Suárez (Barcelona) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Nemanja Milunovic (BATE Borisov).
Booking
Aleksandr Karnitski (BATE Borisov) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Neymar (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Aleksandr Karnitski (BATE Borisov).
Offside, Barcelona. Marc Bartra tries a through ball, but Luis Suárez is caught offside.
Substitution
Substitution, BATE Borisov. Dmitri Mozolevski replaces Nikolai Signevich.
Attempt missed. Aleksandr Karnitski (BATE Borisov) right footed shot from more than 35 yards misses to the right. Assisted by Igor Stasevich.
Attempt blocked. Nikolai Signevich (BATE Borisov) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Nemanja Milunovic.
Attempt saved. Nikolai Signevich (BATE Borisov) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Filip Mladenovic.
Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Aleksandr Volodko.
Sandro Ramírez (Barcelona) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Evgeni Yablonski (BATE Borisov).
Attempt blocked. Nikolai Signevich (BATE Borisov) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Aleksandr Karnitski.
Booking
Gerard Gumbau (Barcelona) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Gerard Gumbau (Barcelona).
Nikolai Signevich (BATE Borisov) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution
Substitution, Barcelona. Gerard Gumbau replaces Sergio Busquets.
Substitution
Substitution, Barcelona. Sandro Ramírez replaces Munir El Haddadi.
Substitution
Substitution, BATE Borisov. Evgeni Yablonski replaces Nemanja Nikolic.
Goal!
Goal! BATE Borisov 0, Barcelona 2. Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Neymar with a through ball following a fast break.