Eintracht Frankfurt produced one of the best nights of football in their history to shock Barcelona 3-2 at the Camp Nou, and progress to the Europa League semi-finals 4-3 on aggregate.
Barcelona got off to a nightmare start, as within two minutes, Frankfurt were awarded a penalty. Jesper Lindstrom was brought down in the box by Eric Garcia, who had his arms all over the Danish playmaker.
Filip Kostic made no mistake from the resulting spot-kick, placing the ball into the far corner beyond Marc Andre ter Stegen to put his side ahead on aggregate.
Nine minutes before half-time, Barcelona’s evening got even worse, as Frankfurt doubled their lead on the night, courtesy of a sublime long-range strike by Rafael Santos Borre.
The Colombian hit an effort from 25-yards into the top corner beyond the reach of Ter Stegen to give Frankfurt a 3-1 lead on aggregate.
The visitors then got their third midway through the second half, as Kostic grabbed his second of the game, placing a shot from the edge of the box into the bottom corner of the net.
With ten minutes of stoppage time added, Barcelona got on the scoresheet, as a fantastic Sergio Busquets effort from outside the box found the far corner.
Then, with seconds left to go, Barcelona were awarded a late penalty, and Frankfurt’s Evan Ndicka received his second yellow card in a matter of minutes and was sent off for a foul in the area.
Despite Memphis Depay’s penalty just about crossing the line with the last kick of the match, it was too little, too late for Barcelona.
Frankfurt will now face West Ham United in the semi-finals.
TALKING POINT – A HISTORIC NIGHT FOR FRANKFURT
It is not hyperbole. This was one of the best night’s in Eintracht Frankfurt’s 123-year history, and what a place to achieve it in. The home crowd at the Camp Nou were left stunned as Barcelona’s 15-game unbeaten run was ended in the most dramatic and unexpected fashion.
The gameplan set out by Oliver Glasner worked to perfection. His back five often caused issues on the counter attack, with Kostic and Knauff often playing as wingers rather than wing-backs, and the pair caused havoc. The frequent quick turnovers by the visitors often lead to overloads in the final third of the pitch. It also helped Frankfurt that Barcelona just didn’t get going, and too many of their players did not turn up.
Make no mistake, Frankfurt are capable of this, but too often this season, they have fallen short. Their Bundesliga form leaves a lot to be desired, but reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League represents a fantastic opportunity to seal silverware and qualify for next season’s Champions League. West Ham United await.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH – FILIP KOSTIC
The Serbian delivered once again tonight for his club, and proved a nightmare for the young Oscar Mingueza to deal with at right-back for Barcelona.
The left wing-back opened the scoring with a superb penalty early on, before assisting Rafael Santos Borre’s superb long-range effort. The 29-year-old then sealed his deserved brace in the second half with a great strike into the bottom corner.
With seven goals and 11 assists in all competitions this campaign, the Serbian is proving to be one of the best attacking players in Europe.
PLAYER RATINGS
Barcelona: Ter Stegen 6, Mingueza 6, Araujo 7, Garcia 5, Alba 6, Pedri 6, Busquets 7, Gavi , Dembele 8, Aubameyang 5, Torres 6. Subs: Dest 6, Traore 6, F. de Jong 7, Depay 7, L. de Jong 6.
Eintracht Frankfurt: Trapp 6, Toure 7, Hinteregger 6, Ndicka 5, Kostic 8, Rode 7, Jakic 6, Knauff 8, Kamada 7, Lindstrom 7, Borre 7. Subs: Chandler 6, Hrustic 6, Hauge 6. Ache 6, Hasebe 5.
KEY MOMENTS
2’ – PENALTY TO FRANKFURT! – Just two minutes in here and the visitors have a spot-kick! Garcia drags Lindstrom to the ground in the area! What a poor error of judgment from the Barcelona centre-back. Clear penalty.
36’ – GOAL! (Rafael Santos Borre) – What a goal! An incredible finish by the Colombian from 25-yards out. He cuts inside from the left, before firing a beautiful strike right into the top corner. Outstanding. Frankfurt are in dream world here!
67’ – GOAL! (Filip Kostic) – Frankfurt surely are heading into the semi-finals! Kamada plays in Kostic to his left after play is switched quickly from a throw-in. The Serbian is just inside the box – he takes a touch to set it, before placing it into the bottom far corner with a superb finish!
84′ – GOAL DISALLOWED! – Barcelona have the ball in the net at the far post courtesy of Sergio Busquets, as he taps in from Depay’s free-kick, but the goal is ruled out for offside! After a VAR check, the goal is overturned, after initially being given. Correct call – Busquets’ foot was just off.
90′ – GOAL! (Sergio Busquets) – Busquets gets his goal! He hits a fantastic strike from outside the box into the bottom corner. They couldn’t, could they?
90 + 10′ – GOAL! (Memphis Depay penalty) – Depay’s penalty strikes the top of the crossbar as Trapp gets a hold of it – however, the ball just about crosses the line after the rebound off the upright. Barca run back to get the game back underway with a matter of seconds to go but to no avail – the referee blows!
