FC Barcelona reached the Champions League quarter-finals today, thrashing Newcastle 7-2 at home in the round of 16 second leg after a 1-1 draw in England.
A week after escaping defeat at Newcastle with a late penalty, Barcelona won comfortably through goals from Brazilian captain Raphinha (6′ and 72′) — the former Sporting and Vitória de Guimarães forward — Marc Bernal (18′), Lamine Yamal (45+7′, penalty), Fermín López (51′) and Polish striker Robert Lewandowski (56′ and 61′).
Newcastle responded twice in the opening half-hour through Swedish winger Anthony Elanga (15′ and 28′), but suffered their heaviest defeat in European competition, losing 8-3 on aggregate and missing out on an unprecedented quarter-final appearance in their first-ever Champions League knockout stage.
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Five-time European champions Barcelona used Portuguese João Cancelo from the start and will face either Atlético de Madrid or Tottenham in the next round — the two sides meet today in England after Spain’s 5-2 first-leg victory.
The quarter-finals take place on April 7-8 and 14-15. Portuguese double champions Sporting, returning to the last eight 43 years on, will face Arsenal — winners of the Champions League league phase and sole leaders of the Premier League.
Sporting and Arsenal qualified on Tuesday, as did French side Paris Saint-Germain — European and intercontinental champions — and Real Madrid, record holders with 15 titles, with Barcelona now joining them. The remaining three second legs take place later: at 20:00, Bayern Munich host Atalanta and Atlético visit Tottenham with leads of 6-1 and 5-2 respectively, while Galatasaray defend a 1-0 advantage at Liverpool.
