Barcelona 7-2 Newcastle (vs. AGG 8-3): Eddie Howe’s side ultimately underperformed at the Camp Nou and were eliminated from the Champions League by a wide margin.
Newcastle eliminated from the Champions League (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
A brave Barcelona side destroyed Newcastle with a ferocious second half performance to win 7-2 in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16. Just under 3,000 members of the Thun army were lucky to have gathered at the Camp Nou hoping to witness history, but instead their dreams were dashed.
A five-goal first half saw the Magpies attack Barcelona’s high line before Newcastle equalized twice through Anthony Eranga. But a desperate Kieran Trippier converted Lamine Yamal’s penalty to put the hosts ahead just before the break.
However, a goal from Fermin López, a second-half goal from Robert Lewandowski and a goal from Rafinha made the fierce competition look one-sided. Newcastle joined Manchester City and Chelsea in being eliminated from the competition before reaching the last eight.
Eddie Howe has been given a boost by the return of Sandro Tonali, who missed Saturday’s away game against Chelsea, while Anthony Gordon, who started on the bench in last week’s first leg, has been named in the XI. As for Hansi Flick, they could recall Eric Garcia after the former Manchester City defender recovered from injury.
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1. Start Elanga Brace Cap Barnstorming
The first few passes were encouraging for Newcastle, who even played into Barcelona’s half and forced an early save from Joao Garcia. But it didn’t last long.
In the first attack, Barça broke the deadlock with Yamal deftly turning Malik Thiau to explode into the final third. His pass looked like it was going to be cut out by Lewis Hall, but the Newcastle left-back slipped out and allowed Raphinha to play a one-two with Lopez, before his shot went past Dan Byrne and into the back of the net.
The Magpies did not let their opener break their wings and equalized through Elanga within nine minutes. Hall slipped behind Barcelona’s high line and made a great pass that the Sweden international grabbed and calmly passed Garcia.
Rafinha combined with Lamine Yamal to score the opening goal (Image: Judit Cartiel – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
The away section could barely contain its jubilation as Flick’s side regained the lead. Poor defending allowed Rafinha’s free-kick to be headed over the goal by Gerard Martín, and Bernal was free like a bird to score, making it 2-1.
But Newcastle hit back again as Elanga once again connected with Hall with a great move. The England prospect intercepted Yamal’s backheel and fed Harvey Barnes, who allowed substitute Ronald Araujo to slip the ball into the goal and give the former Manchester United winger a tap-in.
Anthony Elanga scored twice in the first half as Newcastle fought back (Image: Eric Alonso/Getty Images)
2. Injury blows on both sides
We mentioned Eric Garcia’s return to the startup. Well, he only lasted 22 minutes.
Barça’s right-back apparently has not recovered from his muscle injury and was forced to be replaced by Araujo. Fitness has been an issue for Barcelona’s defense, with Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde sidelined until after the international break.
Flick has not been able to utilize a stable back four this season, which was one of Barça’s strengths last season as they won the domestic treble and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. Iñigo Martinez’s departure last summer was certainly felt.
And like Garcia, the returning Tonali was unable to achieve a perfect 90 score. Immediately after Lopez’s goal, some good defending prevented Barcelona from scoring from a fifth goal, but the Italian appeared to have injured his ankle in a challenge on Joao Cancelo.
But it turned out to be a nightmare scenario. Tonali came on as a substitute for Joe Willock and Lewandowski scored from a corner corner.
Late in the game, Joao Garcia went down with an injury and fan favorite Wojciech Szczesny entered the fray for his first appearance since November. The Polish player enjoyed himself in the closing stages as Barcelona cantered towards goal.
Eric Garcia replaced Ronald Araujo with injury (Image: Eric Alonso/Getty Images)
3. VAR punishes Trippier for pulling
As the first half progressed, Barcelona began to assert themselves and had a great chance after Elanga’s second equalizing goal. First, Byrne did a great job blocking Lewandowski’s shot, and Yamal fired home from five yards.
With seconds remaining before Francois Letexier blew the half-time whistle, Barça launched a final attack that resulted in López finding Rafinha in front of an empty net. Instead of scoring, the Brazilian fell and immediately called for a penalty.
Replays showed Trippier grabbed Raphinha’s arm as he ran toward the ball, and L’Etexier, who saw the incident on the VAR monitor, had no choice but to award a penalty. Despite scoring two spot-kicks against Sevilla on Sunday, Raphinha handed the ball to Yamal and the wonder player went home. It brought an end to an action-packed first half.
Lamine Yamal converted the penalty in first-half stoppage time (Image: Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
4. Barcelona Running Riot
Surely, the second half couldn’t have been any more interesting? Not from a Newcastle perspective anyway.
Within 16 minutes of the restart, the game was out of sight. López scored the first goal for Barcelona, and Lewandowski’s double and Rafinha’s goal made it easy for Barcelona to overcome the opponents.
Howe’s forces were simply too strong to sustain the threat of attack. After fighting well for the first three quarters of the tie, the rifts within the class became apparent. However, Newcastle are certainly proud and will not be pushed back if they qualify for the Champions League again next season.
Who will win the Champions League? Let us know your prediction in the comments section.
Robert Lewandowski’s two goals were humiliation for Newcastle (Image: Javier Borrego/European Press via Getty Images)
5. Lewandowski makes Champions League history
He continues to score goals and create history. Although he is undoubtedly past his peak, the fact that there was no guarantee that Lewandowski would be able to start with both legs speaks to how weak he has become since turning 37 in August.
However, the Polish captain overcame his mistakes in the first half and scored twice in the second period. Rafinha’s header from a corner kick and cool finish on the counter sealed the match and left his name in the record books.
Lewandowski scored against 41 different teams in the Champions League, taking Lionel Messi’s record. He also became the oldest player to score twice in a Champions League match.
The great marksman is out of contract in June and has attracted interest from three different continents. A decision regarding his future will be known soon, either from him or from Barça. But for now, his focus is on helping the La Liga giants win their first European Cup since 2015.
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