Barcelona – Eintracht 2: 3: The Germans derailed Xavi’s train

THAT unity was a team away from winning six straight games and Barcelona trained from the moment Xavi took over. The final 3-2 in the “Camp Nou” did not belong to the hosts, but to the numerous guests who qualified with a historic entry into the semi-finals of the Europa League.

Two goals from Philip Kostic and one from Rafael Bore sealed Germany’s triumph in front of 30,000 fans, although not everyone had a ticket. They meet West Ham in the next stage and are aiming for a European final for the first time in four decades.

The Germans looked the Catalans in the eye from the first moment and only won a penalty from Eric Garcia in the 4th minute. Marc Andre ter Stegen suffered a 4th penalty in the last 40 minutes of the game and Philip Kostic defeated him 1-0.

The hosts immediately countered and found the moments, especially with Pierre Emerick Obameyang (and at one stage with Ronald Araούjo), that could lead them to a draw. However, Ter Stegen was not left out as he also had to intervene in some of the Germans’ fights. He failed to do that in the 36th minute when he reacted poorly to a long-range shot by Rafael Bore to make it 2-0.

Contrary to what happened after the first goal, the Barcelona players looked stunned by the second and remembered before Xavi. The German counterattack remained threatening and Ter Stegen prevented it 3-0.

The second half started full of tricks. The Ultras of the hosts behind Kevin Trapp’s house returned to their seats 10 minutes late, protesting that they were letting German fans into the stadium without a ticket. Shortly after, when they called for a one-hand penalty, the referee determined that there was a problem with the intercom and phase control was delayed.

All of this came at the expense of Barcelona, ​​​​​​who conceded a third goal from Kostic in a defensive oligarchy. It was too late, although Frankie de Jong, Andama Traore and Serginio Dest had joined the game. Luke de Jong and Memphis Depay were the Barcelona manager’s last moves but Sergio Busquets was the one who sent the ball into the net twice. The first was stopped by VAR for offside, the second was scored normally at 90+1′ with a fantastic volley.

But there was no time, even if the referee took 9 minutes. In the 10th minute of delay, Obit Edika took a penalty, received the second yellow card in the delay and Memphis Depay reduced to 2-3. No cross came after the referee’s final whistle, however, and Eintracht reached the semi-finals of a European tournament for the first time since the 1979/1980 season when they reached the UEFA Cup final (loss to Gladbach).

BARCELONA: Ter Stegen, Mingetha (62′ Dest), Araούjo, Garcίαa (70′ L. De Jong), Alba, Gavi, Busquets, Pedri (46′ Fr. De Jong), Dembele, Obamayang (61′ Traore), Torres ( 80′ payment)

CONJUNCTION: Trap, Toure, Hinteregger, Entika, Knauf (90+9′ Chandler), Jakic, Rode (80′ Khrushchev), Kostic, Lindstrom (80′ Hauge), Bore (90+9′ Hasbebe), Kamanda

The results of the first quarterfinals

The results of the second quarterfinals