Barcelona stun PSG with mother of all comebacks
The Blaugrana beat Unai Emery's men 6-1 on the night to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals
Barcelona players celebrate after the game completing a historic comeback against PSG on March 8, 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS
BARCELONA:
Barcelona completed one of the most extraordinary comebacks in European football history to knock Paris St Germain out of the Champions League on Wednesday with a 6-1 victory that rewrote the record books.
No team had ever overturned a four-goal deficit in a knockout tie, but Sergi Roberto's stoppage-time goal completed a 6-5 aggregate win that sparked delirious scenes of celebration inside the Nou Camp and sent Barca through to the last eight.
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 sealed the Spanish side's unlikely triumph.
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.
PSG coach Unai Emery, who had been brought to the club in the close season with the express purpose of adding nous to the vast resources of the Qatari-owned outfit and propelling them to success in Europe, cut a dejected figure.
"Barcelona are capable of doing that. It was all or nothing for them in the final minutes," he said. “It’s a negative experience for me and for the club. We need to learn from it.”
Barcelona completed one of the most extraordinary comebacks in European football history to knock Paris St Germain out of the Champions League on Wednesday with a 6-1 victory that rewrote the record books.
No team had ever overturned a four-goal deficit in a knockout tie, but Sergi Roberto's stoppage-time goal completed a 6-5 aggregate win that sparked delirious scenes of celebration inside the Nou Camp and sent Barca through to the last eight.
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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 sealed the Spanish side's unlikely triumph.
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.
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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.
PSG coach Unai Emery, who had been brought to the club in the close season with the express purpose of adding nous to the vast resources of the Qatari-owned outfit and propelling them to success in Europe, cut a dejected figure.
"Barcelona are capable of doing that. It was all or nothing for them in the final minutes," he said. “It’s a negative experience for me and for the club. We need to learn from it.”