After being dominated at the Parc Des Princes three weeks ago, Barcelona made history in Wednesday’s second leg to eliminate Paris Saint-Germain, 6-5, on aggregate.
Luis Enrique’s side chipped away at PSG’s lead, and were able to come up with the goods in the final moments at the Camp Nou. Sergi Roberto’s 95th minute chip won it for Barcelona after the defender got to Neymar’s cross inside the box.
The winner capped off a dominant showing from the hosts and an exhilarating final couple of minutes. Neymar’s 90th minute penalty had made it 5-5 on aggregate, with PSG holding the advantage on away-goals. Luis Suarez drew the penalty after he was bundled over by PSG defender Marquinhos. The Brazilian had curled home an 88th minute free-kick after Edinson Cavani had scored for PSG in the 62nd minute.
Leo Messi’s 50th minute penalty-kick goal had made it 3-0 for the hosts on the evening, after two first-half goals by Luis Suarez and an own-goal off of PSG defender Layvin Kurzawa had Barcelona up 2-0 at halftime.
Barcelona became the first team in UEFA history to advance after turning around a four-goal first leg deficit.
After being eliminated from last year’s competition at the quarterfinal round, Barcelona will be huge favorites after Wednesday’s historic comeback. Paris Saint-Germain fail to make it past the Round of 16, after being eliminated in the quarterfinal stage the past four years.
DORTMUND ROLLS IN BEATDOWN OF BENFICA
Borussia Dortmund cruised to a spot in the quarterfinals thanks to a 4-0 (4-1) home victory in their second leg against Benfica.
Thomas Tuchel’s side missed plenty of chances to score in Portugal three weeks ago, but the hosts were a different animal at the Signal Iduna Park. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang kicked off the scoring after four minutes, heading home Christian Pulisic’s assist.
Pulisic put Dortmund ahead, 2-1, on aggregate after finishing nicely inside the box in the 59th minute. Two minutes later saw Aubameyang scored his second goal of the match from a right-footed effort.
The Gabon striker capped his hat-trick in the 85th minute, when he rifled home a right-footed shot into the bottom-left corner. Benfica could only muster two shots-on-goal, while Dortmund made sure to take the most of their chances in Wednesday’s second leg.
The UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second-legs continue on March 14 as Leicester City welcomes Sevilla to the King Power Stadium looking to turnaround a 2-1 deficit (3:45 p.m., E.S.T. Fox Sports 1). In Tuesday’s other fixture, F.C. Porto looks to turnaround a 2-0 aggregate deficit at Italian giants Juventus (3:45 p.m. Fox Sports 2).