CULTURE
Barca thrashes PSG 6-1 to reach Champions League quarter-finals
2017-03-09 07:59:37 GMT+8
Editor
Wang Lei
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 on Wednesday.
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.
Luis Enrique (L), manager of Barcelona, celebrates as Sergi Roberto scores their sixth goal during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg match between FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain on March 8, 2017. /CFP Photo
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.
Barcelona's Brazilian forward Neymar celebrates at the end of the match. /CFP Photo
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.
Luis Suarez (F) of Barcelona is challenged by Marquinhos of PSG for a penalty during the match. /CFP Photo
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.
Aubameyang hat-trick leads Dortmund into last eight
Meanwhile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang grabbed a hat-trick as Borussia Dortmund crushed Benfica 4-0 on Wednesday to advance to the Champions League quarter-finals 4-1 on aggregate.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (L) of Borussia Dortmund in action against Eliseu of Benfica during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg match between Borussia Dortmund and Benfica at the Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany on March 8, 2017. /CFP Photo
The Gabon international, who endured a dreadful evening in the 1-0 first leg loss in which he missed a hatful of chances and had a penalty saved, was back at his lethal best.
He struck either side of a Christian Pulisic goal and added another late in the game as the German side, European champions in 1997, made the last eight of the competition for the third time in 10 years.
(Source: Reuters)
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