Barcelona 6 PSG 1 (agg 6-5): Sergi Roberto’s last-gasp winner sparks wild celebrations as Barca net THREE in last seven minutes to seal sensational 6-1 victory overhauling PSG in greatest comeback ever
SERGI ROBERTO’S 95th-minute goal tonight capped the greatest comeback in Champions League history as Barcelona dumped out Paris Saint-Germain.
Barca were 4-0 down from the first leg, but triumphed 6-1 at the Nou Camp tonight, with three goals in seven minutes, to leave all in the stadium, and around the world, speechless and actually in tears.
Goals from Luis Suarez, a PSG own-goal, a Neymar brace and Roberto’s late goal produced something spectacular in Spain tonight with Barca triumphing 6-5 on aggregate.
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It led to the players, staff and management erupting into emotional scenes at the final whistle, as the Spanish champions pulled off the impossible, and made their passage into the quarter-finals.
Barcelona got the early goal they were desperate for, and had the PSG keeper to thank for it.
A dangerous ball was looped back into the area in just the third minute, and Suarez rose higher than visiting keeper Kevin Trapp to head over the line, desperate PSG defender’s desperate attempts to hook clear.
Trapp should have at least managed to punch clear, and his misjudgement had the Nou Camp rocking, hoping the shock was on.
Barcelona then began to dominate possession, and will be left wondering how they didn’t increase their lead quicker than they actually did.
First Rafinha, who has often been criticised for his final ball, drilled across the box straight to the PSG keeper on the half-hour, with Suarez and Lionel Messi waiting for a tap in.
Then Adrien Rabiot was caught in possession for the visitors, and Messi played a great ball through to Suarez.
But the Uruguayan striker’s touch was surprisingly bad, and taking the ball wide, he drilled straight to Trapp.
But in the 40th minute PSG’s calamitous defending bit them where it hurts most.
Andres Iniesta mugged Marquinhos in the box, back-heeled it into the danger area, and PSG defender Layvin Kurzawa looped the ball into his own net.
And just four minutes into the second half, the great comeback was well and truly on.
Neymar was brought down in the box by Thomas Meunier, and Messi, who else, stepped up to hammer home the penalty, and his team’s third goal.
But the French outfit put a dagger through Barcelona hearts in the 62nd minute, and again, defensive weakness was on show.
Ivan Rakitic gave away a cheap free kick. As the Barca defence were busy organising, the ball was pumped into Edinson Cavani, who thumped it past ter Stergen in the home goal.
But back came Barca, and they went 4-1 up when Neymar curled an incredible 87th minute free-kick in.
And the drama wasn’t over.
Suarez was bundled over in the box in the 90th minute by Marquinhos, and up stepped Neymar to bag his second of the game from the spot.
So at 5-1, and deep into injury time, it appeared that Barca’s tremendous efforts would prove in vain.
Step forward supersub Sergi Roberto.
Neymar clipped the ball into the area, and the 25-year-old Spaniard crashed the ball home to see the Nou Camp erupt, the players run around like headless chickens, and boss Luis Enrique tear up in the dugout.
For everyone who witnessed the epic Champions League clash, they had just witnessed something unlikely to ever be repeated.
Speaking after the game, Barca midfielder Ivan Rakitic said: “It’s too crazy, really unbelievable, thank you to this team, to the people all over the world, to the fans, to the stadium.
“It was a special day, it’s really hard to say something. The first game in Paris was really hard for us, but the reaction today was special, history.
“We had to believe, we knew about the situation, to lose 4-0 in Paris was a hard result. But it’s football. “We saw it a few weeks in Superbowl, what is possible in sport.
“This is Barcelona, we can say we are the best team in the world, and we want to keep going and keep dreaming.”