Barcelona absolutely battered Newcastle 7-2 in the Champions League Round of 16 second leg tonight, cruising through 8-3 on aggregate after the first leg had finished 1-1 at St James’ Park.
Newcastle actually started well, pressing high and getting an early shot on target, but Barça took the lead almost out of nowhere with Raphinha slotting home after a rapid counter-attack. Newcastle pulled level through Anthony Elanga, who finished off a Hall cross, but Barcelona hit straight back when Marc Bernal tapped in from a free-kick, left completely unmarked in the six-yard box.
Just as things seemed to be settling, a daft attempt at a backheel clearance from Lamine Yamal gifted Newcastle an equaliser, with Elanga grabbing his second. But Barça got a penalty just before half-time after Trippier fouled Raphinha, and Lamine buried it in the bottom corner despite Ramsdale diving the right way.
The second half was one-way traffic. Fermín López made it 4-2 after a brilliant team move, then Lewandowski headed in from a Raphinha corner to make it five. He added a sixth shortly after with a neat low finish. Newcastle then made things even worse for themselves when a stray square pass from Thiaw fell straight to Raphinha, who made it seven with a simple finish.
Man of the Match was Raphinha, who had a hand in almost everything. Barcelona go through to the quarter-finals, while Newcastle’s unbeaten run of six Champions League games is well and truly over.
