Barcelona on Wednesday hit Newcastle United for seven to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, while Liverpool overturned a first-leg deficit to beat Galatasaray in their last-16 tie, and Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid also advanced to the next round.
Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski each scored twice as La Liga leaders Barcelona tore apart Newcastle at the Camp Nou, winning 7-2 in the second leg of their last-16 encounter to progress 8-3 on aggregate.
A spectacular match saw Anthony Elanga twice score for Newcastle inside the opening half-hour to cancel out goals by Raphinha and Marc Bernal.
Photo: AFP
However, the Catalans went back in front when Lamine Yamal converted a penalty deep in first-half stoppage-time to make it 3-2 on the night, and they never looked back.
Fermin Lopez ran through for 4-2 early in the second half before Lewandowski added a quick-fire double either side of the hour mark, and Raphinha completed the scoring in the 72nd minute.
It was a chastening defeat for Newcastle and just the third time since 1955 that an English team has conceded at least eight goals on aggregate in a European tie — one of the other occasions was this week, when Chelsea lost 8-2 on aggregate to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
Photo: EPA
“When the game was effectively over, we didn’t react well to that, so it became a very difficult second half,” Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe said.
It was also just the third time Barcelona have scored seven in a Champions League game, and Hansi Flick’s side can now look forward to an all-Spanish quarter-final next month against Atletico.
Liverpool were too good for Galatasaray, overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit against the Turkish side with a comprehensive 4-0 win at Anfield.
While Liverpool sealed a 4-1 aggregate victory to take the Reds through to a quarter-final against PSG, Galatasaray lost more than the match.
Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen broke his right arm, with Dutch international Noa Lang set to undergo surgery on his thumb, the Turkish club confirmed yesterday.
Meanwhile, Diego Simeone’s men lost 3-2 on the night to Tottenham Hotspur in London, but progressed 7-5 on aggregate thanks to their 5-2 victory last week.
Bayern’s progress against Atalanta BC was never in doubt after their 6-1 win in the first leg in Italy, and they followed that with a 4-1 success in Munich.
The Germans progressed 10-2 on aggregate, and next face Real Madrid in a heavyweight showdown.
“We don’t fear anyone,” Harry Kane told DAZN when asked about the prospect of that tie.
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