Barcelona thrashed Brest 3-0 on Tuesday to move into second place in the Champions League group standings after Robert Lewandowski scored his 100th Champions League goal.
The veteran striker scored from the penalty in the 10th minute to put the Catalans ahead and attain his milestone, then added a second after Dani Olmo’s goal to upset France for the first time. Barca played well after coach Hansi Flick urged his players to “eliminate” mistakes after losing their last two La Liga games.
They took an early lead when Brest goalkeeper Marco Bizot accidentally hit Lewandowski’s back after he controlled Pedri’s cross on his chest. The attacker recovered and scored clinically from the penalty after 10 minutes to get his century.
Lewandowski became the third player in the competition to reach that milestone, following Lionel Messi (129) and Cristiano Ronaldo (140). This season, Flick has helped the forward score 22 goals in 19 La Liga and Champions League outings. The 36-year-old has played 125 Champions League games for Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, and Bayern Munich.
Raphinha was busy on the right and Barcelona dominated despite Lamine Yamal’s ankle injury. They had few clear chances until Fermin Lopez’s diving header forced Bizot to save. Lopez nearly scored again early in the second half after Lewandowski’s clever pass, but Bizot saved his low shot. Barcelona tried to conclude the game, but Brendan Chardonnet blocked Olmo’s shot.
In the 66th minute, the former RB Leipzig midfielder received Gerard Martin’s pass in the box, dodged Chardonnet, and beat Bizot at the near post to score the second. Despite sitting in mid-table in Ligue 1, Brest beat RB Salzburg 4-0 and dropped just two points from their first four matches before being defeated at the Olympic Stadium.
Mathias Pereira Lage scored to briefly delight nearly 3,000 traveling fans, but the linesman called offside. A pass intercepted by replacement Pablo Torre with the goalie to beat could have scored Barcelona’s third, but he shot wide.
Lewandowski scored his 101st Champions League goal past Bizot’s reach. Barcelona wants to reach the final 16 straight, while Brest are a few places below but have had a good start and are in contention for a play-off spot.
Ahead of Benfica and Atalanta, Flick’s team visit last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund. The Dutch goalkeeper corrected his earlier error by rejecting the Spaniard with his leg.
