Hansi Flick’s Barcelona stormed to a 7-2 victory over Newcastle United on Wednesday to reach the Champions League quarter-finals, winning 8-3 on aggregate.
Robert Lewandowski (56th and 61st min) and Raphinha (6th and 72nd) 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 (45+7th), Marc Bernal (18th) and Fermin Lopez (51st) were also on target for the Catalan giants.
Hansi Flick
Despite the final scoreline, the first-half — where Anthony Elanga scored a brace for the visitors (15th and 28th) — was a tight affair with Barcelona leading 3-2 at the break, courtesy of Yamal’s penalty, after Kieran Trippier brought down Raphinha in the box. Flick revealed he had to switch things up at the interval, which is what led to the dominant second-half display.
“It was up and down and it was tough in the first-half. We lost many balls. For a team like Newcastle, with fast players, they made fantastic transitions. It was not easy to defend. In the second-half, we said we have to control more the game, play with precision. Push them deeper. I think it worked well in the second-half, “explained Flick.
Flick reserved special praise for veteran striker Lewandowski, who found the net after scoring just twice in his last 10 appearances. “In these matches, he’s unbelievable. He’s one of the best players, best strikers in the box,” said Flick.
“He has a lot of experience about these important games, and it was a good day in the Champions League to start scoring goals again,” added the German coach.
Meanwhile, Raphinha, who also notched up two assists on the night, won Player of the Match honours.
26
No. of UCL goal contributions (16 goals, 10 assists)
by Raphinha in the last two seasons; the most by any player in that span
One
This was Raphinha’s first Player of the Match award in the UCL this season (he scored two goals and notched up two assists vs Newcastle)
8-3
The aggregate scoreline by which Barcelona beat Newcastle United
37 yrs, 209 days
Robert Lewandowski’s age, which makes him the oldest UCL goalscorer in the knockout stage; he took the record off Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs (37 years, 148 days)
109
No. of UCL goals scored by Robert Lewandowski; third highest in the tournament after Cristiano Ronaldo (141) and Lionel Messi (129)
36
No. of UCL knockout-stage goals scored by Robert Lewandowski; third highest after Ronaldo (67) and Messi (49)
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