Three talking points from Barcelona 3-0 Brest

Pedri puts on masterclass as Barca get back on track

Barcelona got back to winning ways against Brest in the Champions League after defeat to Real Sociedad and a disappointing draw with Celta Vigo.

Hansi Flick’s side weren’t at their very best against the French side but got the job done fairly comfortably. The win was achieved without Lamine Yamal too which should put that particular discussion to bed, for now at least.

Barca probably should have won by a far greater margin but missed a hatful of chances. Fermin Lopez was particularly wasteful in front of goal for the Catalan giants.

⚠️ | QUICK STAT

Pedri among all midfielders in the #UCL today:

• Most touches (112)

• Most accurate long balls (12)

• Most duels won (12)

• Most fouls suffered (5)

• Joint-most successful dribbles (4)

Pulled the strings in Barcelona's midfield. #BarcaBrest pic.twitter.com/cLb2x6uhg7 — Sofascore Football (@SofascoreINT) November 26, 2024

Yet Barca fans could console themselves with a sublime performance from Pedri. Just a day after his 22nd birthday, the midfielder showed once again just what a special talent he is by putting on a masterclass.

One a day when it was reported contract talks have gone well and Pedri is set to sign on until 2030, the Spain star offered up another reminder of just how much quality he has and how integral he can be for the Catalans.

Lewandowski joins the 100 club

Robert Lewandowski joined Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in an exclusive club on Tuesday when he netted the 100th Champions League goal of his career.

The Poland international slotted home from the penalty spot on 10 minutes after having been clattered in the penalty area by goalkeeper Marco Bizot. Interestingly, the stats show that Lewandowski has hit his century with far fewer shots than both Messi and Ronaldo.

100 - Robert Lewandowski is the third player to reach 100 goals in Champions League, after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, being the one among the three that has needed the fewest shots to reach that figure (451, against 527 for Messi and 793 for Cristiano).

Legend. pic.twitter.com/lhDlMhA9Bv — OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 26, 2024

Lewandowski’s strike was also hist 21st of the season in all competitions for club and country - and yes it is only November - and continued his prolific form this season for the Catalans.

The striker’s first Champions League goal came all the way back in 2011 but he certainly didn’t play like a 36-year-old. Indeed it was no surprise when he grabbed another one late on with another clinical finish.

More goals will be needed from Lewandowski if Barca are to go all the way in the tournament this season, but there’s no doubt he knows exactly what it takes to score in Europe’s elite club competition.

Olmo comes alive to finish off Brest

Dani Olmo really struggled to make an impact against Brest initially and has struggled to show his best form since returning to the team from injury.

He eventually flickered into life to finish off Brest just after the hour mark with some lovely footwork and a great finish to make it 2-0 and seal the win.

Dani Olmo has now scored the same amount of non penalty goals this season as Kylian Mbappe (6) ⚽️

He's done it in 7 fewer appearances... pic.twitter.com/l6bciVITWt — LiveScore (@livescore) November 26, 2024

Credit must also go to Gerard Martin for his assist. The left-back enjoyed a torrid time against Celta Vigo but showed some character to come back and put in a far stronger performance against Brest.

That’s now six goals in 10 games for Barcelona for Olmo since returning to the club. You can see why Jorge Valdano has called him Barcelona’s “best signing in decades” this week.

Manager Hansi Flick knows exactly how important Olmo is and took him off almost as soon as the ball had hit the back of the net. The new boy is being wrapped up in cotton wool by the Barcelona boss and you can see why.

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