Barcelona 6-1 PSG (6-5 Agg): Barca Produce Comeback of the Century to Qualify for Quarter Finals

Published on: 07 March 2017

Barcelona provided one of the greatest comebacks in football historyon Wednesday nightafter amind-boggling 6-1 win overParis Saint Germain - seeing them through to the quarter finals of the Champions League via a 6-5 aggregate scoreline.


The Spanish leagueleaders looked to have no hope in advancingafter their horrendous performance in the French capital three weeks ago - where they were decimated 4-0 in the first-legby Wednesday night's visitors.

But the Catalan giants somehow managed to net three goals in the last seven minutesto break PSG hearts and stage one of the most memorable nights in footballing history.


The hosts made the perfect startas LuisSuarez took advantage of poor defending and miscommunication within the visitor's ranks andscrambled the ball home with just three minutes on the clock.


Rafinha provided asimple cross from the right-hand side into the areawhich the PSG defence struggled to clear - forcing the indecisiveKevin Trapp tohesitate before advancing from his goal-line.

This indecisionallowed the 30-year-old strikertime to attack the bouncing ball and loop his header over the top of the out-of-position custodian into the back of the net- beating the attempted clearance ofThomas Meunier in the process.


Throughout the first half Barcacontinued to press - with Neymar, AndresIniesta and Suarez allproducing chances - but the Catalonianswereunable toreallytest Trapp andadd to the opener.


That was until Barcelonareceiveda huge stroke of luck allowing them to grab asecondscrappy goal thanks to another PSG defensiveerror five minutes before the break.


Iniesta played a one-two on the edge of the area with Suarez, but it seemed the return pass from the frontman was going to run out of play, however, the Spanishmidfieldermanaged to push the ball into the direction ofgoal after centre-backMarquinhos hesitated.

The rescued cross presented an easy task forleft-back LayvinKurzawa torelieve somepressure, but his attempted clearance was mistimed and the 24-year-oldturned the ball into his own net - adding morefuel of beliefto the alreadyflamingNou Camp crowd.


The majority of the 96,000 inattendancewere on their feet again just minutes into thesecond-halfafter another lightning-quick startfromthe home side.


A beautifully-weighted pass into the left-hand side of the area was inches away from reaching Neymar before Meunier's slip felled the Brazilian. After a consultation with the fifth official on the goal-line the referee finally awarded the penalty which seemed a clear decision.

Catalan heroLionel Messiwas on hand to show his nerves of steel and made no mistake indriving the ball into the left-hand side of Trapp'snetfrom 12 yards.


Just over 60 seconds later the bouncing-Barcelona faithful had their hearts in their mouths as Edinson Cavani was inches away from silencing the electric atmosphere.


PSG'svillain of the halfMeunier almostmade up for his costlyerror at the opposite endas theBelgiuminternational found space on the right-hand side before firing a low cross into the area towards his Uruguayan teammate.


The 30-year-old's sliding effort looked to have beaten Barcelona goalkeeperMarc-André ter Stegen, but the fizzing shot cannoned back off the post and away to safety.But 10 minutes later, Cavani did score his side'sprecious away goal, and his 38th of the season.

Kurzawa, another defender who had a first-halfto forget, toweredaboveIvan Rakitic in the area before heading the ball into the path of the onrushing attacker who smashed the ball into the roof of the net on the half-volley - prompting jubilant scenes on thebench.


The tie looked to be over until in the 88th minute whenNeymar fired a world-class free-kick into the top left-hand corner giving Trappabsolutelyno chance.


It was the Brazilian again just two minuteslater who gave his side an outside chance after he converted Barcelona's second penalty of the night following minimal contact takingSuarez down inside the area.

But nothing compared to the influence the 25-year-old attacker had in the dying seconds of the game.


After several unsuccessful crosses, Neymar floated a beautiful ball in-between the PSG defence and goalkeeper allowing substitute Sergi Robertoto get onto the end of the ball and volley it home provoking absolute carnage inside the Nou Camp.

Tonight was an 'I was there' moment, and no matter what happens in the remainder of this seasons Champions League,this fixture will be remembered as one of the greats.

Barça XI:
1.Ter Stegen
3.Piqué
4.Rakitic
5.Sergio
8.Iniesta
9.Suárez
10.Messi
11.Neymar Jr
12.Rafinha
14.Mascherano
23.Umtiti#FCBLive

PSG Starting XI vs.@FCBarcelona confirmed !  #Fire
⚽� #FCBPSG
� @ChampionsLeague
� Camp Nou
 #ICICESTPARIS pic.twitter.com/aBENguhh7t

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