Five key stats from Barcelona 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk | UEFA Champions League

Barcelona took a big step towards qualifying for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League when they defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Wednesday night.

First-half strikes from Ferran Torres and Fermin Lopez put Barcelona in firm control and even though Shakhtar threatened a fightback after the break by pulling a goal back, Xavi Hernandez’s men held on for all three points at home.

It was an important win as it not only puts Barça in a great position to progress to the next round in Europe but also gives them crucial momentum ahead of the first El Clasico of the current season against Real Madrid later this week.

Given the number of absentees due to injuries and suspension, Barcelona needed their other players to step up and that is exactly what happened as the likes of Ferran, Fermin, and Lamine Yamal put their hands up.

With his strike, Ferran Torres now has five goals in eight games for Barcelona in the Champions League, making him the quickest Spanish player to reach this milestone for the club in the competition.

Meanwhile, Fermin Lopez (20y 167d) became the fifth-youngest player to score for Barça on his first start in the Champions League, behind Giovani Dos Santos, Pablo Torre, Sergi Roberto, and Sergio Busquets.

The victory also meant that Barcelona have started a season with three wins in their first three Champions League games for the first time without Lionel Messi since 2003.

The 2-1 triumph against Shakhtar on Wednesday means Barça have now won each of their seven home matches in all competitions this season – their best start to a campaign at home since 2007/08.

The only blemish on the night would be the goal that Barcelona ended up conceding in the second half, which meant that the Catalans have never started a UEFA Champions League group stage with three wins and zero goals conceded after the first three matchdays.