Barcelona vs Dynamo Kiev summary: score, goals, highlights | Champions League

Barcelona 1-0 Dynamo Kiev: match summary

It wasn't pretty, but it didn't really need to be from Ronald Koeman's perspective. Barcelona did just enough against a Dynamo side shorn of several attacking players to keep their Champions League hopes alive and it is a measure of how far the Liga giants have fallen - and the task that the Dutchman is up against - that those hopes extend only as far as getting out of the group.

Gerard Piqué provided the only goal of the game, in doing so pulling level with Ronaldinho on 14 Champions League goals for the club, and Koeman had cause to be thankful for his defender's tendency to pop up when required on an evening when his attack failed to provide answers to Dynamo's block-defending tactics.

It was also perhaps instructive that with two summer signings, Memphis Depay and Luuk de Jong, on the pitch, Barcelona rarely looked like scoring other than from a cross. It took the introduction of Philippe Coutinho - a €100m-plus player who Barça loaned out during more profitable times and who provided the brightest attacking spark  - and Ansu Fati to lend any coherence to the forward line.

The late introduction of Sergio Agüero was also a reminder that Barça are far from impoverished in terms of their current squad and if all three can stay fit and find form, Koeman can look forward to more convincing displays down the line. For the moment, the Barça boss really just needs two to get the season back on track: a decent result in Sunday's Clásico and another positive scoreline in Kiev next month.

And there's the whistle! It was far from convincing but Barça stay alive in Europe courtesy of Piqué's first-half strike.

Karavayev gets in a tangle on the touchline and a decent Dynamo opening goes begging. Time running out for the visitors.

Three minutes added in Camp Nou.

The first yellow of the game goes to Dest for a foul on Vitinho in midfield.

Karavayev almost gets free on the right to cross but excellent defending from Busquets snuffs out the danger.

Shaparenko delivers, Piqué clears. Squeaky bum time for Barça...

Garmash is scythed down by Piqué on the right and Dynamo have a dangerous looking free kick. Venezuela international striker Eric Ramírez comes on for the last few minutes.

Dynamo are sitting back as though they're sitting on a draw now. Surely worth a punt with 10 or so to go considering how the group looks.

Vitinho, who has revolutionised the Dynamo attack since coming on, gets a decent cross in, Piqué fails to clear but there are no Dynamo shirts attacking the far post.

Tomasz Kędziora heads off for Dynamo, Oleksandr Tymchyk enters the fray.

Coutinho! The Brazilian spotted an opening there and attempted a curling lob from outside the area that wasn't far away from sneaking in.

The moment Barça fans have been waiting for and the Camp Nou roof is raised (figuratively of course) as Kun Agüero makes his Champions League debut for his new club. Memphis the man to make way.

Coutinho! A Barça corner finds its way to the Brazilian, who blasts over from the edge of the area.

Another free kick for Dynamo out on the right. They need to make these count under the circumstances but it's hit short and cleared.

Gavi off to a standing ovation, Sergi Roberto on.

VAR is singularly unimpressed by the Dynamo forward's claim.

Dynamo with a decent opening as Vitinho fizzes a cross in but Garmash goes to ground and although the ref says no dice it seems VAR will have a look at this.

Not a great deal as the ball is floated to the far post, nodded back hopefully into the box and hacked clear by Piqué.

Dynamo have an opportunity from a set piece now as Busquets floors Shaparenko. What can the visitors fashion from this?

Garmash and Vitinho on to jazz up the Dynamo attack, Supriaha and De Pena make way.

Good defending from Piqué as Tsyhankov chases a ball down the right. Dynamo have offered very little going forward.

Dynamo look to hit on the break and Busquets does what he needs to do to prevent Buyalskyi from getting over the halfway line with a run to goal beckoning.

Now Alba seems to have recovered. Balde is out to warm up for Barça just in case.

Not ideal for Barça... Alba pulls up after landing awkwardly on his right foot and signals to the bench that he needs to come off sharpish.

Case in point... a horrible back pass places Bushchan under unnecessary pressure and Ansu almost conjurs up a wonder goal after some back-to-goal keepy uppy.

A nice Barça move led by De Jong forces Dynamo to cut the ball out and concede a corner. The home side have become much more vertical after bringing on Ansu and Coutinho.

While we don't necessarily subscribe to the Sam Allardyce school of football thought, there is a time and a place to wallop the ball into the opposition half and 1-0 down in Camp Nou is probably it. Dynamo are going to caught with their pants down at some point through their insistence on tempting fate.

Coutinho has immediately added some much-needed sparkle to Barça's attack, twisting the Dynamo defence inside out before firing into the side netting.

And we're back underway!

Coutinho is on for the second half, Oscar Mingueza making way. Ansu also comes on to huge applause to replace De Jong.

The visitors will have to be a little more effective when they do carve out a chance in the second half. Dynamo have not had a shot on target yet.

As it stands, things are looking a little rosier for Barcelona in the group. Still, you'd assume they'll need to pick up three points in Kiev to have any chance of going through and Dynamo can still throw a spanner in the works in Camp Nou, not to mention their tendency to frustrate sides on home soil.

Half time in Camp Nou and while that 45 can hardly be described as vintage Barcelone, the home side are 1-0 up and that is the bare minimum requirement this afternoon.

The home side play it safe all the way back to Ter Stegen and the ref obliges by blowing for the half.

One minute added in Camp Nou, Barça haver a corner to see out the half.

A dreadful mistake from Buyalskyi lets Barça in and Memphis twists and turns to find an angle but is eventually crowded out by the Dynamo defence.

The goal seems to have spurred Dynamo on into a more attacking mood and the visitors are trying to take the game to Barça now.

The old school combine as Alba sits a cross up to the far side and Piqué arrives at the far post to stab past Bushchan for the opener. Relief for Koeman.

Koeman appears to have seen enough and has Ansu out warming up already, to a huge cheer from Camp Nou.

Memphis finally gets the chance to run at the Dynamo back line and skips through a couple of challenges but finds no way through and lays off for Alba, whose cross is plucked from the air by Bushchan.

On the half-hour mark Barça have managed just one shot on target, De Jong's decent effort that was palmed away by Bushchan.

In the absence of a player able to take on the Dynamo defence through the middle Barça are relying on crosses at the moment in an attempt to break down the visitors' back line. Dynamo though seem happy enough with that and are sending everything back.

Another Barça corner, another De Jong header, just wide.

Dynamo are insisting on playing it out from the back and inviting all sorts of problems, like that De Jong effort. This time the visitors are lucky to escape as Gavi miscontrols a gift and pings it out for a goal kick.

Bushchan! What a save from the Dynamo keeper, who keeps De Jong's effort out with a flying stop.

Dynamo get forward again and De Pena fancies his chances but fires into a sea of defenders. He had better options there, the Uruguayan, with support on either side.

De Jong! Memphis swings in a free kick and the Dutchman arrives unmarked in the area to glance a header just wide! First real chance for either side.

De Pena clips a cross-field ball towards Tsyhankov but it drifts into the sphere of Ter Stegen who gathers. Dynamo starting to open up a little now.

Dest earns Barça a corner, it's taken short and Memphis delivers but Bushchan punches clear. Busquets puts in another cheeky foul to prevent a Dynamo break.

Dynamo break through Tsyhankov and there's a bit of panic in the Barça back line before Piqué nods the rebound from the Ukraine international's blocked effort back to Ter Stegen.

Busquets concedes a free kick. Busquets vigorously denies any wrongdoing. The world continues to spin on its axis.

Dynamo are defending in two solid blocks with runners on either side to prevent Barça getting clear on the flanks. The ploy is working a lot better on the right than the left and Koeman will probably instruct his side to keep looking for Alba and Memphis on the far side.

Alba this time delivers from the left after an interchange with Memphis but it's too high for Dest.

Dynamo don't appear as though they are going to be too adventurous early on, the visitors sitting back to try and hit on the break.

Early pressure from Barça as Memphis wriggles free on the left and centers for Dest, who nods over from practically on the line. Decent delivery from the Dutchman.

Here we go! Barça get the match underway in Camp Nou, to a throaty roar from the crowd who know the importance of this one.

The sides are out on the pitch now and the Champions League anthem gets a thorough scolding from the Camp Nou crowd.

We're just a few minutes away from kick-off now as the teams prepare to emerge from the tunnel.

It seems that Koeman will in fact push Sergiño Dest up into an attacking position and play four at the back after all.

Dynamo XI confirmed

Ukraine under-21 forward Vladyslav Supriaha has been handed the task of leading the line by Mircea Lucescu in the absence of some of his more established strikers. The visitors' main goal threat, Tsyhankov, tucks in behind in the support line. 

It looks rather like Koeman is going to play a wing-back system with Dest and Alba supporting Memphis and De Jong from the flanks. He has been accused, quite directly in the case of Joan Laporta, of trying to come up with too many tactical systems while in charge of Barça (the president suggested he stick to 4-3-3 earlier this season). We'll see how this one works out.

Barcelona XI confirmed

Koeman has elected to start Luuk de Jong, who didn't have the greatest of fortune against Benfica, with Ansu, Agüero and Coutinho all on the bench. Bold, to say the least...

Dynamo omens

Barcelona have won their last four competitive matches against Dynamo, with an aggregate score of 10-2. The last time the Ukrainian side got the better of today's opposition was back in the 1997-98 Champions League, and they did it in some style with a 3-0 and a 4-0 in the group stage as that wonderful Shevchenko and Rebrov-led side topped a group containing Newcastle, PSV and Barça, who incidentally finished bottom.

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Barcelona vs Dynamo Kiev: times, TV, how to watch online

Barcelona vs Dynamo Kiev: preview

For a bit more information about today's game and a look at the two sides, as well as a guide as to where to watch the game, look no further than our preview.

Agüero: "The goals will come"

Speaking before the game, the Argentinean said he will have to fight for his place in the side following the return of Ansu.

"Of course we have no option but to win this game. If we don’t, we’re practically out. But we’re full of confidence after Sunday’s game and with the fans behind us we can get the three points we need.

"I’m trying to train hard and then it’s up to the coach to decide. The only way to earn a place in the team is by doing well. The goals will come by themselves. It’s harder if you think about these things too much. The most important thing is to win.”

Agüero to the rescue?

Also missing for Barcelona are Pedri, who will be a huge loss in midfield, Ronald Araújo, Ousmane Dembélé and Martin Braithwaite. The big question as we await team news is whether Koeman will roll his Kun Agüero-shaped dice straight away or leave the Argentinean in reserve after the veteran striker finally made his debut in the 3-1 victory over Valencia last weekend. 

Not helping Dynamo's cause is the absence of Ibrahim Kargbo, Vladyslav Kulach, Artem Besedin and Denys Popov, all of whom are strikers. On the other hand, Ukraine midfielder Viktor Tsyhankov has helped himself to eight goals in 14 appearances this season and will surely fancy his chances of getting on the score sheet against a defence shorn of the suspended Eric García. 

There would be few excuses for Koeman if he fails to muster a victory in Camp Nou. Dynamo are hardly the power of old and were beaten twice by the home side in last season's group stage, where the Ukrainian champions ended on four points and transfer to the Europa League. For Dynamo that is a reasonable target given the quality of the group and they tend to fare better in the second-tier competition, where they reached the last 16 last season.

Dynamo have not made it out of the group stage of the Champions League since 2015-16, when they lost 3-1 on aggregate to Manchester City in the first knock-out round.

Even a draw would be pushing it for Barcelona's requirements. That result would leave them one adrift of Dynamo with three games to go: away at the same opponent, which is never an easy place to play, and rematches with Bayern and Benfica. Even the most optimistic Barça fan - and those are few and far between at the moment - would not be too confident of progressing under those circumstances.

It's a big afternoon for Barcelona, and more so for Ronald Koeman, who really doesn't have any other option than to oversee a win this afternoon. Barça are currently propping up the group after consecutive 3-0 losses to Bayern Munich and Benfica and defeat here would pretty much be the end of this season's Champions League for the five-times winners, who have never gone out in the group stage.

Barcelona vs Dynamo Kiev: welcome

Hello and welcome to AS English's live coverage of the Champions League Group E match between Barcelona and Dynamo Kiev. Kick-off this afternoon at Camp Nou will be at 18:45.