Barcelona demolish Newcastle 7-2 to reach Champions League quarters
Barcelona's Brazilian forward Raphinha celebrates his team's seventh goal in the rout of Newcastle (Lluis GENE) Barcelona stormed to a 7-2 victory over Newcastle on Wednesday to reach the Champions League quarter-finals, winning 8-3 on aggregate. Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha struck twice each for the Catalan giants as Eddie Howe's side crumbled under a scintillating attacking display from the hosts at Camp Nou. Lamine Yamal, Marc Bernal and Fermin Lopez were also on target as Hansi Flick's side ran riot and recorded a landslide last 16, second leg victory.
The five-time champions are dreaming of lifting the trophy again, 11 years after they last won it, and showcased the attacking firepower which could make their ambition a reality. By contrast Newcastle were hoping to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in their history but the Premier League side departed bruised and battered. "With the fans supporting us like that for 90 minutes it's hard to beat us at home," Raphinha told Movistar.
Barca led 3-2 at the break after a thrilling first half but after Lopez netted early in the second they romped to victory. "Scoring the fourth goal quickly after coming out (for the second half) -- that helped us be calm in the game," added Raphinha. After Joan Laporta was reelected president at the weekend, spirits were high around the club and they came out flying.
They were outplayed in the 1-1 first-leg draw but pledged to improve back on home soil and claimed an early lead through Raphinha. Teenage star Lamine Yamal turned brilliantly away from Malick Thiaw in midfield, leaving the German defender on the turf and released the Brazilian winger. Raphinha let the ball run to Fermin Lopez and then collected it back, showing poise to hold his shot for a second before slotting into the bottom corner.
Barcelona are notoriously fragile defensively though and Newcastle quickly forced their way back into the game. The Catalan giants were carved open with just a couple of passes between Lewis Hall and Harvey Barnes, and Anthony Elanga timed his run right to stay onside and sweep past Joan Garcia. Three minutes later Barca were back in front with 18-year-old midfielder Bernal turning home from close range after Gerard Martin nodded down Raphinha's diagonal free-kick for him to finish.