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3 hours ago
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For a while Newcastle made this fun but they did not make it through, all that hope giving way to hurt and regret. By the time the final whistle went, the Camp Nou belted out the club anthem and the broken men in black and white trudged towards their own supporters, positioned high above a scoreboard that showed 7-2, it seemed absurd to say that they had played their part, but they had. In the end, though, the biggest night of their lives belonged to Barcelona, who scored as many goals as they ever have in the European Cup.
Eddie Howe had said that his side could not and would not shrink and, for three-quarters of their first knockout tie in this competition, they didn’t. Not in the first leg, when it had taken a 96th-minute Lamine Yamal penalty to deny them victory. Not when they went behind to Raphinha’s goal after just six minutes of the second leg. Not even when they went behind a second time after 18 minutes, Marc Bernal making it 2-1. It wasn’t until the third time, another penalty from Lamine Yamal, that it became a step to far. And then, it is true, they collapsed completely.
Lamine Yamal’s penalty, the last kick of the first half, left Newcastle departing 3-2 down and they must have wished it could have ended there, never recovering psychologically from the blow and powerless to prevent Barcelona scoring three more in 15 second-half minutes before adding a seventh. That hadn’t seemed possible after Anthony Elanga scored twice and they had taken on their hosts. Even with a brilliant Barcelona display after the break, even with Newcastle ruing their own defensive complicity in defeat, it still felt a little cruel that their courage came to nought.
Howe had promised Newcastle would be themselves and that meant going at Barcelona; the problem was that’s a game Hansi Flick’s side embrace too. For all the talk of Cruyffian DNA, he has provided a twist and built a team willing to run and trade blows in transition, life lived on the edge. That led to a frantic and immensely enjoyable first half that could have closed with either side leading. It also lead, eventually, to a goalfest.
It started with a sharp turn from Lamine Yamal in the centre circle that caused Malik Thiaw to slip, Raphinha sprinting free to exchange passes with Fermín López and bend into the net. Newcastle’s response was swift, Lewis Hall heading straight at Barcelona. Eric García came too far to protect the defence but not far enough to actually make the challenge, so Hall played to Harvey Barnes and kept running on to the return ball. Through now, he bent into Elanga to cut a sharp finish past Joan García to equalise.
Barcelona took less than two minutes to lead again after Lamine Yamal spun and was fouled. Gerard Martín nodded down Raphinha’s free-kick for Marc Bernal to score from five yards. Eric García was taken off soon after because of an injury, but it could as easily have been an attempt to close the space Newcastle had been streaming into. If so, it didn’t work. Although Eric García’s replacement, Ronald Araújo, sent the third of three consecutive corners aimed his way into the side netting, Newcastle kept coming and the second equaliser had a familiar genesis.
Hall and Barnes, always incisive on the left, took advantage of Lamine Yamal’s misplaced backheel to set up Elanga to score again and soon after Newcastle appealed for a penalty when João Cancelo lent on Elanga. Yet if Barcelona were rocking, they were also rolling with this – an open game that lacked control but had plenty of space – and when Lamine Yamal dashed inside superbly, they should have scored. Raphinha’s shot was saved by Aaron Ramsdale, the ball somehow going through Robert Lewandowski’s legs. Lamine Yamal skied it from five yards.
No one could believe it wasn’t 3-2 then, but with the last kick of the half it was. A gorgeous pass from Lamine Yamal found López to pull back and, coming at the far post, Raphinha was pulled back by Kieran Trippier. Eventually, via the VAR screen, François Letexier gave the penalty from which Lamine Yamal scored.
It had been a great contest, but soon after the restart it was finished. Raphinha’s superb, first-time pass on the turn sent López dashing clear to score the fourth six minutes in and, four minutes after that, Lewandowski headed in Raphinha’s corner.
Still they came. Five more minutes and lovely footwork from Lamine Yamal took him away from Dan Burn to roll into Lewandowski for the sixth. The veteran striker had barely had time to put his mask back on after the celebration; now he whipped it off again. Withdrawn shortly after, his work was done, but Barcelona’s wasn’t, Raphinha collecting Jacob Ramsey’s misplaced pass to make it seven. Newcastle’s European adventure had been good while it lasted, but now it was gone.
