At dawn on Wednesday (29), a fierce battle for the top spot in Group H of the UEFA Europa League unfolded, and Barcelona skillfully used the strategy of "returning the favor to the other side", with a goal each from two Portuguese internationals, Zuão Janslu and Zuão Félix, to narrowly beat Portuguese Superliga rivals Porto 2-1 at home, thus sealing the promotion spot with the advance of the first round. The match was the first of its kind for Barcelona since 2021. This is the first time since Lionel Messi's departure in the summer of 2021 that Barcelona have reached the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League.
Porto took the initiative for a while in the match, launching consecutive attacks in the first 30 minutes of the first half, and finally broke the deadlock when striker Akunugosha added a shot in front of the goal. However, just two minutes later, Barcelona equalized with a brilliant shot from the left side of the field by Zuulio Janslu, who cut into the penalty area with his individual ability.
In the second leg, Zúo Jázquez launched another attack from the left side, passing the ball to his national teammate Zúo Félix, who scored the winning goal. In La Liga this season, Zouo Félix scored only 1 goal in 11 matches, but in the UEFA Europa League, he has scored 3 goals and 1 assist in 5 matches, becoming Barcelona's "UEFA Killer".
Barcelona failed to break through the group stage in the two editions of the UEFA Europa League after Lionel Messi's departure, and have finally escaped the shadow of the "post-Messi era" this time around. The two goal scorers, Zio Janslu and Zio Felix, are currently playing on loan, and their performances this season are so impressive that Barcelona may consider buying out their contracts.
