PSG have already moved to deny Verratti exit rumors after Barcelona humbling
But then the impossible happened: Barcelona scored three times in seven minutes to stun PSG and reach the Champions League quarterfinal.
Having Neymar, Messi and Luis Suarez in the Barca line-up is a good start. Number six flew into the top corner and Barcelona were a goal from drawing the tie.
“We had the game lost in Paris but here we played with responsibility, with joy, with pressure, and with the ball”.
The stunned roar from the stands, however, gave Barcelona a last burst of energy for five minutes of added time. When PSG restarted after the goal, the final whistle sounded.
That goal came in the 95th minute when Sergi Roberto flicked the ball home to begin wild celebrations.
The comeback for the ages was complete.
Instead they were roundly beaten 6-1 and went out of the competition, with the French media suggesting it was the most humiliating defeat in the club’s history.
“And if you beat them, of course it’s a special night for everyone not only for me but for the whole team, whole city and the supporters.so it really was one of my best games so far”. “We have nothing to lose and a lot to win”, said an uncharacteristically buoyant Enrique on Tuesday.
Emery has not lost a European knockout tie since April, 2012 and his three successive Europa League triumphs with Sevilla encouraged PSG’s billionaire chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi to appoint him as coach a year ago in place of Laurent Blanc. Now looking at a 4-0 disadvantage, Barca is going to have its scoring boots on to have a chance.
On Tuesday, Barca Manager Luis Enrique casually predicted Wednesday’s result.
Now, after a phenomenal 90-odd minutes of football, suddenly anything is possible.
“I don’t know how I scored, I’m caught up in it all, I’m just very happy”, Roberto remarked after the game. “This is a unique sport for insane people”, Enrique said after the match.
The PSG coach, Unai Emery, whose job is on the line after the horrendous capitulation in Camp Nou, blamed his players for failing to see out the tie.