champions league

A Champions League classic forces the best out of Barça and goals from Suárez and Messi (2) provide just that

While Ernesto Valverde's side aim to follow the women's team into a Champions League final, Barça Femení are aiming to match their European dominance

The Blaugranes will go into the second leg of their semi-final against Bayern Munich with an advantage on the scoresheet and in the stands

Ernesto Valverde’s men hope to make it three wins from three trips to England this year

The Catalans have qualified for their eighth Champions League semi-final in the last 12 seasons

Leo Messi and 90,000 team-mates keen to ensure no comeback is on the cards

The Catalan club are facing a last-four tie next month against Bayern Munich

Lionel Messi lit up a lively and vocal Camp Nou to send the Blaugrana into the quarter-finals

Barcelona faces the French club at Camp Nou in a game which will decide who goes through to the quarter finals of the Champions League

Valverde’s men secure an important victory in a classic, end-to-end match in London to maintain their perfect start in the Champions League group stage

Goals from Džeko, De Rossi and Manolas allow Italians to turn around three-goal deficit and qualify for the semi-finals on the away goals rule

FC Barcelona said farewell to the Champions League on Wednesday night at the quarter-final stage, with Luis Enrique’s men simply unable to break down a resilient Juventus> backline in a 0-0 stalemate at the Camp Nou  (0-3 aggregate). The game began with the frenetic intensity envisaged, but without the early chances, or goal, seen in the comeback against  PSG last month. A blazed strike over the bar from each side, first from  Gonzalo Higuain and then from Ivan Rakitic were about as close as either came to goal inside the first quarter of an hour.

The famous Camp Nou has seen more incredible moments than most, but it will take an almighty effort to top what was witnessed on 8 March 2017. Barça pull off one of the most epic comebacks in the history of the Champions League to get into the quarter-finals, scoring three in the last seven minutes to clinch a 6-5 aggregate win. But if anyone was to achieve the inconceivable, it was always going to be Barça, as the hosts struck thrice late on, with Sergi Roberto clinching a heart-stopping 6-5 aggregate win over PSG. After eventually catching his breath, Luis Enrique was kind enough to share his thoughts on the epic 6-1 win over PSG which seals the team’s passage to the last-eight of the Champions League. “The joy we gave to all Barça fans is dedicated to all those who had faith, who supported us each day, especially in the tough moments, after losing in Paris”, he said. 

Difficult. Very, very difficult. But not impossible. At the club and all around the city there is a shared belief that the team can turn around the 4-0 deficit. What's certain is that Barça will not be going out without a fight... No team has ever managed to turn around a four-goal deficit in UCL knockout history, but after seeing some glorious football in the last two games at the Camp Nou, there is a very strong belief among both players and fans that on Wednesday night from 8.45 CET, we could be about to see one of the most remarkable comebacks in sporting history. Barça boss Luis Enrique knows full well what a difficult task lies ahead, but like his players, knows that if they give it their best shot, anything might happen. “We have to score a lot of goals, which we have done plenty of times before” he told a packed pressroom on Tuesday. “But let’s not get crazy, tomorrow we have nothing to lose and everything to win.”

In 23 games against FC Barcelona, coach Unai Emery only had one win. Now he has two. And it’s a win that cannot be begrudged. His Paris Saint Germain side was simply the best on the day, and a 4-0 win in Tuesday’s Champions League first leg puts the French club on very good course for a place in the quarter finals. All Barça can do is lick the wounds and start thinking about March 8, when the action resumes at Camp Nou. It’s an almost impossible task that they have before them, but if there is any team in the world that’s capable of doing the impossible, then that’s FC Barcelona. Goals from Di Maria (2), Draxler and Cavani make it a miserable night at the Parc des Princes, leaving Barça with a massive job to do at Camp Nou in March. But if anyone can do this, then Barça can…