They said Barcelona needed to be perfect. Instead, they were breathtaking.
Seven goals. A crowd that never stopped believing. A second half of such devastating quality that it left Newcastle United — a genuinely excellent European side — looking like helpless bystanders. Barcelona 7-2 Newcastle. 8-3 on aggregate. The quarter-finals await.
The first half was the kind of chaos only the Champions League produces. Raphinha struck inside six minutes — a composed finish after a Yamal turn of outrageous quality — and it felt like the floodgates might open immediately. They didn't. Newcastle twice equalised through Anthony Elanga, whose pace and directness troubled Barcelona's backline repeatedly. Lewis Hall's assist for both goals underlined why the young left-back has been drawing admiring glances from across Europe this week.
Marc Bernal restored Barcelona's lead after 18 minutes — a tap-in following a brilliant Gerard Martín header across the six-yard box — before Elanga levelled again in the 28th. Four goals in 28 minutes. Camp Nou breathless. Then Yamal's penalty in stoppage time sent the home side into the break 3-2 ahead, and the tie felt tilted decisively in Flick's favour.
The second half was different in every way. Where the first had been frantic, the second was controlled. Fermín López made it four on 51 minutes. Lewandowski, 37 years old and written off by some, scored twice in five minutes — the 56th and 61st — with the composed finishing of a player who has lost none of his edge. Raphinha completed his brace in the 72nd minute to make it seven.
Barcelona have scored seven in a Champions League match. The last time that happened, football was a different sport. Tonight, at the greatest stadium in the world, Hansi Flick's team announced themselves as genuine contenders for the title.
