Five-star Barcelona continue sensational form with demolition of Crvena Zvezda
Riding the crest of a wave in the first part of the campaign, Barcelona continued their strong form in the opening stages against Red Star, taking the lead 15 minutes in via Inigo Martinez.
Unsurprisingly, it was Raphinha at the heart of things, with the in-form winger delivering a pin-point cross for Martinez to head beyond Marko Ilic. Despite taking an early lead, Red Star were happy to ride with the Barcelona punches.
And that approach paid off, as Red Star made the most of a gaping hole in the visitors’ backline, when Rade Krunic slipped Silas through on goal, with the 26-year-old making no mistake via his rifled finish.
It would count for little as the break loomed though, given that Barcelona reestablished their lead via Robert Lewandowski.
Raphinha’s original effort cannoned off the right-hand post before falling straight into the path of the prolific Polish striker, who only needed to tap home into an empty net.
The half-time break did little to quell the storm either, as Lewandowski soon doubled his tally and Barcelona’s lead, tapping in from close range just moments after missing an easy chance.
After being such a thorn in Red Star’s side, Raphinha deservedly picked up a goal of his own to put the game beyond all doubt, expertly caressing the ball into the bottom corner from a Jules Kounde cutback.
Barcelona’s five-star performance was capped off with a poked Fermin Lopez strike 15 minutes from time, with Kounde once again being the provider via his third assist of the night.
Although this was a truly chastening experience for them, Red Star at least had the final say, even if the goal eventually counted for little, with Milson curling home the best goal of an entertaining evening in the Serbian capital.
In the end though, nothing would stop a fourth consecutive defeat in the Champions League for Red Star, whose campaign looks as good as over already. Barcelona, meanwhile, march on as one of Europe’s most formidable teams.
They have now seen multi-goal margins in every instalment of what is now a seven-match winning run, with half-time leads in all but one of them.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Raphinha (Barcelona)
Check out the match summary here