Barcelona v Newcastle: Champions League last-16 second leg – live | Champions League
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FULL TIME: Barcelona 7-2 Newcastle United (agg 8-3)
It was a contest over one-and-a-half legs. For three halves of football. But in the end, it was one half too many for Newcastle. Barcelona breeze into the quarter-finals.
90 min: Hall pings a shot straight at Szczęsny. As the keeper gathers, Osula momentarily threatens to put the head on Cubarsi, for not a great deal by the looks of it. He thinks better of it and is easily ushered away.
89 min: The ball had gone out for a corner, which is whipped in from the left and flashed wide by the head of Barnes.
88 min: Newcastle spend a little bit of time in the Barcelona final third. The first in a long while. Ramsey takes a whack from the edge of the area and catches Araujo flush on the lug. That’ll hurt, and he goes down accordingly.
86 min: Yamal, just inside the Newcastle box on the right, aims for the top left. Ramsdale catches, albeit at the second attempt, after an impromptu juggle.
84 min: Barnes is fouled on the left in midfield, and Osula thinks about taking a quick free kick! Probably best to slow things down, which he eventually does.
82 min: Before Barca can change their keeper, Osula comes on for Gordon. Then Joan Garcia makes way for Wojciech Szczęsny.
81 min: Joan García has pulled something while gathering a weak speculative shot from Barnes. He’s not going to be able to continue.
80 min: Pedri sends a cute pass down the inside-right channel to Yamal, who jinks into the box and scoops a shot towards the bottom right. Ramsdale sticks an arm out to save another goal. “This could have turned really ugly if Trippier had been shown a red card,” writes Andrew Goudie, dipping into his Big Book of Small Mercies.
78 min: Torres latches onto a long ball down the right. He’s clear, but can’t round Ramsdale. Then the flag goes up for offside anyway. However, if the replay is anything to go by, had Torres scored, VAR might have got the old rulers out. I think Torres was on. So some good and necessary work there from Ramsdale.
76 min: To Newcastle’s relief, Barca take it down a notch.
74 min: This is a fine second-half performance from Barcelona, who have put their foot to the floor. Newcastle have been their own worst enemies since the restart, though.
GOAL! Barcelona 7-2 Newcastle (Raphinha 72); agg 8-3
… but not that much closer. Ramsey, in the left-back position and facing backwards, plays a careless blind pass across the face of his own box. Raphinha intercepts it on the edge of the area, and dispatches it into the bottom right. Oh dear.
71 min: Raphinha dinks a cross in from the left. Burn does well to chest down on the penalty spot and cushion a pass under pressure to Thiaw on his right. Newcastle clear their lines. The sweet mercy of the finishing line gets a little closer.
69 min: Pedri nearly finds Olmo with a speculative pass down the middle. Then Olmo flicks Torres into the box down the inside-right channel. Torres shoots, but it’s blocked. Newcastle are holding on for dear life, hopeful of this not turning really ugly.
67 min: Barcelona make a triple change. João Cancelo, Fermín López and Lewandowski are replaced by Ferran Torres, Xavi Espart and Olmo.
66 min: Lopez skedaddles down the left. He’s got Yamal and Raphinha in the middle. Fortunately for Newcastle, his low cross is blocked by Livramento. Because number seven looked on the cards there.
64 min: Eddie Howe senses that danger, and hooks Joelinton. He makes way, along with Elanga, for Botman and Murphy. It’s damage limitation from here on in.
63 min: This is cruel on Newcastle, who have contributed so much. But they don’t want to lose their heads. Joelinton catches Lewandowski late, and is lucky not to be shown a second yellow.
GOAL! Barcelona 6-2 Newcastle (Lewandowski 61); agg 7-3
Yep, Lewandowski wanted in on this all right. Yamal spins away from Burn in the centre circle before advancing down the inside-left channel and slipping infield for the big striker. Lewandowski glides into the box, left to right, suddenly breaking up his run to unsettle Ramsdale before lashing into the bottom left.
60 min: Pedri performs a liquid dragback to see off Willock, who tugs him back and earns a booking. He’ll miss his next Champions League match. “That’s the end of our season,” double-sighs Matthew Guite. “That penalty was the killer. Both of them. We were in touch first half but not now.”
58 min: Hall and Gordon combine down the left at speed, and nearly make their way into the box, but the final pass doesn’t come off. Barca clear their lines. “Fair play to Toon, they gave it a right good go,” sighs Mark Turner.
GOAL! Barcelona 5-2 Newcastle (Lewandowski 56); agg 6-3
Lewandowski wasn’t going to go without a goal, was he? The corner’s whipped in long from the right. Lewandowski rises above Livramento, on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box, and heads past a flailing Ramsdale and in. Tie over, and Camp Nou is bouncing.
55 min: Willock comes on for Tonali, who limps off sadly. And from the corner …
53 min: Barcelona scent blood, and now Lopez spins down the right and wins a corner off Tonali, who doesn’t get up immediately, having stretched to put the ball out. On comes the physio.
GOAL! Barcelona 4-2 Newcastle (Lopez 51); agg 5-3
Newcastle are cut open in the simple style. Martin, from the left-back position, rolls towards Raphinia on the centre spot. He flicks an instant pass around the corner for Lopez, who tears clear down the middle, opens his body, and sidefoots across Ramsdale and into the bottom right. A sickener for Newcastle, but another fine Barca goal.
50 min: Raphinha has a dig from a tight angle on the right. Ramsdale parries. Yamal dribbles down the right and stands one up for Raphinha, who can’t win a header at the far stick. Finally Lewandowski cuts one back from the left, and Raphinha scuffs his shot from ten yards. A big few minutes for Newcastle coming up, you feel.
48 min: Hall slaloms down the left and nearly releases Gordon down the middle. He’s stopped from doing so by Cubarsi, who swings a slightly panicked leg to belt the ball back to his keeper. There wasn’t a whole lot of control in that intervention; the ball might have gone anywhere. But Barca clear their lines.
47 min: Barca are on the front foot immediately. Things open up in front of Raphinha but he hesitates when he really should be passing forward to Yamal. Then Lopez swings a cross in from the left but Joelinton heads clear.
Barcelona get the second half underway. No changes for the home side. Don’t ever change. (According to TNT Sports, Barcelona have become the first team in the Champions League era to take the lead on three separate occasions in the first half.) But Newcastle have hooked Trippier and sent on Livramento.
Our half-time postbag runneth over. “What a cracking game this is and what a wonderful footballer Lewis Hall is: not one of his best nights defensively but he has literally driven Newcastle forward in attack. On the other flank Elanga has got his rewards for recent improved showings. If we can just take this to extra time I’ll have more of a chance to digest yesterday’s dinner (crisps and soft drink) before my BAE roll” – Chris Paraskevas
“Can I nominate Simon McMahon for a special Football Daily prize letter of the year?” – Richard Hirst
“I really enjoyed watching the video Simon McMahon shared. Will Newcastle match Dundee’s done deed? Possible answers range from ‘Are you high on weed?’ to ‘Indeed!’” – Peter Oh
“There have already been 50 goals in the last-16 round. With three games yet to start. And Tottenham being one of those” – Andy Gordon
Half-time postbag. “This isn’t a basketball game. It’s a tennis match” – James May
“It seems to me that Newcastle were at their best when they were seeking an equalizer. They surely won’t look at it that way, but going into the 2nd half needing to chase the game might suit them better” – Kári Tulinius
“Goalkeepers might disagree with me, but I think 3-2 is the perfect football match score. Kudos to these two storied clubs for achieving it by halftime!” – Peter Oh
“I guess beating Barcelona in the Nou Camp on 18 March isn’t for everybody” – Simon McMahon
HALF TIME: Barcelona 3-2 Newcastle (agg 4-3)
Five goals. And there could have been more. Many more. It’s been a ride. More, please!
45 min +8: In fact, Ramsdale got the very tip of one finger to that penalty. No wonder he’s beside himself with despair. A brave attempt, sir.
GOAL! Barcelona 3-2 Newcastle (Lamal 45+7 pen); agg 4-3
Lamal whips the penalty into the bottom right. Just enough power to beat Ramsdale, who had guessed the right way, and got close enough to look pained at his failure to stop it.
45 min +6: Yamal, who has just missed a sitter from six yards, will take the penalty.
Penalty for Barcelona
45 min +5: … and now he books Trippier, because he’s giving the penalty. Trippier, having made no attempt to play the ball, has got away with one there. He survives.
45 min +4: VAR sends the ref over to the screen. Before he makes his decision, he books Jason Tindall, who was yapping away in his ear.
45 min +3: Yamal plays a delightful curling pass down the right for Lopez, who fires a low cross into the middle. Raphinha races in, preparing to score from six yards. Trippier has a yank of his arm, and Raphinha goes over. The referee doesn’t award a penalty, but he surely should. VAR is going to get involved.
45 min +1: In the first of three additional first-half minutes, Yamal jinks his way down the right and cuts infield. The ball’s slipped left to Raphinha, who shoots low towards the bottom right. Ramsdale parries, but the ball sits up, six yards out. It’s behind Lewandowski, but Yamal arrives and must surely … ah. He leans back and clears the bar, by some distance as well. How on earth did he miss that? Well, by leaning back, but you get the general point.
45 min: Just before that incident, Fermin Lopez went over by the left-hand edge of the Toon D, claiming to have been clipped by Tonali. Even the replays aren’t conclusive, so you can forgive the referee for not blowing up. That doesn’t stop Lopez fuming, which he does at some length when play stops.
44 min: Barnes prepares to be sent down the left wing by Gordon’s cute flick. But he’s cynically blocked by Cubarsi, who goes into the book.
43 min: Barnes slips Hall into the Barca box down the inside-left channel. He reaches the byline but can only loop his cross into the arms of Joan Garcia, minding the near post. This is such good fun.
42 min: Lewandowski has another dig, this time from the edge of the D. It’s straight at Ramsdale. There will be goals. Many more goals.
41 min: … and nothing comes of the resulting corner. Burn may have been at fault for Barcelona’s second goal, but he’s made up for it there.
40 min: Thiaw chunks a backpass on the halfway line, and suddenly Fermin Lopez is racing away. He’s got Lewandowski free to his left, and finds him. Lewandowski shoots … but doesn’t score, because Burn arrives from nowhere, telescopes one of those already long legs, and somehow deflects over the bar! That’s an astonishing last-ditch block!
38 min: Elanga chases after another long ball down the right. He goes over on the edge of the box, claiming to have been half-clipped, half-tugged by João Cancelo. He’s not getting his penalty, though, and to be fair there was hardly anything in it.
37 min: Trippier creams a pass for Elanga down the right. He hooks into the box for Gordon, who is preparing to sidefoot home when Cubarsi intervenes at the very last second. His clearance nearly falls to Barnes, but not quite. Plenty of concerned muttering around Camp Nou; the home fans don’t like the look of a lot of this. Newcastle look dangerous every time they fly forward!
35 min: From the resulting free kick, Barnes swings a dangerous free kick into the mixer. Joan Garcia does very well to claim under pressure from Burn and Joelinton.
34 min: Newcastle are playing with obvious confidence. Hall, Elanga and Gordon combine smoothly down the left and nearly open Barcelona up. Barca half clear, but they’re panicking, and Fermin Lopez sticks both arms around Joelinton from behind and wrestles him to the ground. It’s surely a yellow card, but the French referee François Letexier is in a laissez-faire mood tonight.
32 min: … and now Elanga is free again down the right! He rolls across to Gordon, who can’t force the ball past Joan Garcia. A huge chance missed! But ah, the flag goes up for offside, and replays show both Elanga and Gordon were a country mile off. Flick’s high line working smoothly there. But it’s risky.
31 min: Hansi Flick moans quite a lot at the referee about letting play go on there. It was the correct decision, though, and that seems like a bit of displacement, because his team have been all over the show at the back.
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