Barcelona advance to Champions League knockouts
After a spirited and well-deserved 2-1 victory over FC Porto at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium on Tuesday, Barcelona has advanced to the Champions League knockout stages for the first time under Xavi Hernández. With one point needed to conclude the group stage as Group H winners, Barcelona’s journey is almost complete.
After Porto gained the lead in the first half, Barcelona had to fight back to win three crucial points and advance to the Round of 16 with one game remaining. The Blaugrana displayed mental toughness and a superb all-around team performance.
Thanks in large part to the aggressive play of Raphinha and João Cancelo, who were tasked with providing service from the wings and constantly took on defenders and fired shots from distance looking to test goalkeeper Diogo Costa, Barcelona were the better team to start the game. They enjoyed 20 minutes of strong possession works and moments of danger.
Initially playing mostly defense, Porto gradually began to exert pressure on Barcelona and counterattack; Mehdi Taremi’s goal, which was disallowed for offside, served as the visitors’ warning shot before a devastating counterattack culminated in a shot by Galeno that Iñaki Peña saved and fell to Brazilian winger Pepê, who was first to the rebound and in the thirty minutes gave the Dragões the lead.
Just 90 seconds after Porto’s opening goal, Cancelo scored a sensational solo goal after a very good, quick passing sequence from one side of the pitch to the other. This goal came just after Mário’s mistake, as Cancelo dribbled past him with ease and fired a gorgeous curler into the bottom corner to calm any tension among the Barça players and supporters.
The game was thrown wide open by the two rapid goals, with both teams trading blows with each other like to a crazy heavyweight boxing match. Barça squandered huge chances through João Félix and Raphinha, and Peña had to make an incredible stop to keep out an easy goal from Evanilson.
A frenetic first half was ended by the halfway whistle, and despite both teams having plenty of opportunities to score two or three goals, the result was just 1-1. It seemed impossible to pick a winner at halftime if the game stayed that close. The second half looked to be explosive.
João Félix nearly gave Barça a chance to win Goal of the Season 15 seconds after the break, but he squandered another excellent opportunity a few minutes later. Barça had a solid start to the half and pushed Porto to play deeper than they wanted to. The right side of Porto’s defense was being tormented by Félix and Cancelo, who together gave the Blaugrana the lead just after the hour mark.
The two Portuguese teammates exchanged a few one-twos before Félix used his right foot inside the box to flick the ball past Costa and into the bottom corner for a stunning goal to cap off the home team’s comeback. Barça’s worries were soothed by an early goal in the second half.
The Blaugrana were instantly quite at ease with the ball and aimed to score a third without taking any excessive risks. The Catalans entered the last 15 minutes in a strong position to complete the task and win the match. Porto had very little success on the counter, and Ronald Araujo was vital in stopping a few potentially threatening assaults from the visitors.
With ten minutes remaining, they had a great chance to end the match, but Ferran Torres missed a pretty simple chance from the edge of the box. As a result, Porto started to push forward more players in an attempt to gain a late equalizer. Although there were a few close calls, Barcelona did a fantastic job of controlling the ball and using the remaining time.
The Catalans entered the last 15 minutes in a strong position to complete the task and win the match. Porto had very little success on the counter, and Ronald Araujo was vital in stopping a few potentially threatening assaults from the visitors. With ten minutes remaining, they had a great chance to end the match, but Ferran Torres missed a pretty simple chance from the edge of the box.
As a result, Porto started to push forward more players in an attempt to gain a late equalizer. Although there were a few close calls, Barcelona did a fantastic job of controlling the ball and using the remaining time.
The last siren signaled the formal confirmation of Barça’s Round of 16 berth for a team that overcame hardships and produced their greatest performance in more than a month against a formidable Porto team that made them work for it. But the Catalans got the win they needed to avoid controversy in the group stage finale as the Blaugrana rose up and the forward players finally performed to their quality.
Now that Barcelona knows they only need a point against Royal Antwerp to win the group, they get to travel to the worst team in the group. For many reasons, this is a very encouraging night, and it’s been a long time since I’ve been pleased to watch Barça compete in a major game. They never forgot to have fun, even when they had to battle. This team can defeat anyone if they bring both their fighting spirit and their football skills to every game.
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