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Barca complete incredible ECL comeback

Barcelona became the first team in Champions League history to overturn a four-goal deficit in a knockout tie as a stoppage-time goal by Sergio Roberto completed an extraordinary 6-1 victory over Paris St Germain this morning, Australian time.

Mar 09, 2017, updated Mar 09, 2017
Barcelona's Brazilian striker Neymar Jr. celebrates the 6-1 UEFA Champions League victory. Photo: Andreu Dalmau / EPA

Barcelona's Brazilian striker Neymar Jr. celebrates the 6-1 UEFA Champions League victory. Photo: Andreu Dalmau / EPA

Edinson Cavani looked to have wrecked Barcelona’s dreams by volleying in an away goal to make the score 3-1 but two late strikes from Neymar set up a thrilling finale before Roberto scored to seal a 6-5 aggregate win for the Spanish side.

Barcelona began to believe in the impossible dream of clawing back their shock 4-0 loss from the first leg when Luis Suarez headed over the line in the third minute and a Layvin Kurzawa own goal gave them further hope before the break.

Lionel Messi’s penalty five minutes into the second period had the Nou Camp on its feet but Cavani’s strike in the 62nd was a sucker punch to Barca’s ambitions from which Luis Enrique’s side took a while to recover.

A curled free kick from Neymar in the 88th minute gave them hope and the Brazilian converted a penalty before substitute Roberto slid in to knock the ball beyond Kevin Trapp from a chipped free kick and send Barca through to the last eight.

“I cannot believe it. It was really impossible, 15-20 minutes after the game, it is crazy and unbelievable,” the Croatian said, quoted on www.uefa.com.

“The first game in Paris was hard for us, a lot of people spoke hard on our team but the reaction was special. It is history. We want to keep going on.

“We had to believe. Four-nil was hard, but it is football.

“We saw it in the Super Bowl, what is possible in sport. Today was crazy.

“This is Barcelona, the best team in the world and we want to continue our dream in the UEFA Champions League.”

An electric atmosphere gripped the Nou Camp before kick-off after Suarez and Luis Enrique had said they truly believed a comeback was on and the players caught the wave of optimism by swarming all over PSG from the first whistle.

Trapp struggled to cope with the early pressure and flapped at a high ball, allowing Suarez to jump ahead of him and force the ball over the line.

PSG had a penalty appeal turned down when Julian Draxler’s low cross struck Javier Mascherano’s arm but it was one of few forays forward from PSG in the first half as Barca did all the attacking.

The Catalans owed their second to another piece of slack defending, however, as Iniesta nudged his way past Marquinhos in the area to knock the ball back into the danger zone and it bounced off the swinging leg of Kurzawa and into the far corner.

PSG riled Barca supporters by coming back on to the pitch after the break a few minutes late but the Nou Camp was soon celebrating a third as Messi powered a penalty past Trapp after Neymar had been tripped by Thomas Meunier.

Cavani hit the post but made amends by smashing a loose ball home, although he should have added another but was denied by the feet of Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

At the time it did not look to be a crucial miss but Barca had other ideas, scoring three times in six minutes to complete an incredible comeback.

PSG coach Unai Emery was understandably gutted.

“When we analyse it, it is true that we have missed a major opportunity,” said the Spaniard.

“The first half was our fault and we didn’t manage to press or do things with the ball. We defended very deep and they had more chances to score. We made mistakes for the two first-half goals.

“We were calmer in the second half and better positioned. We improved and had a chance for 3-2. The refereeing decisions went against us and we lost everything in the closing minutes. Barcelona are capable of doing that. It was all or nothing for them in the final minutes.

“It is a negative experience for me and for the club. We need to learn from it.”

-AAP

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