The Peak of Excitement Issue 44: Barcelona 6-1 Paris Saint-Germain, Miracle Night at the Nou Camp
"They can score 4 goals against us, why can't we score 6 against them?" This seemingly provocative fan chant came from an outgoing championship coach.On February 14, 2017, Barcelona, once the kings of Europe, were beaten by Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes by a four-goal margin, and shortly after the game, manager Luis Enrique announced that he was leaving the Camp Nou at the end of the season.
Enrique shirked the responsibility on the eve of the war, and Barcelona seemed to be relying on Lionel Messi to work wonders. That season, the "MSN" combination of goals and assists in the least, but bear most of the task of driving Neymar, in Enrique's 343 new formation has been serving as a left wingback, rather than his more skillful left winger. The Brazilian in the adjustment is looking forward to the outbreak; and the retreat of Enrique, also finally in the rematch with Paris, let the Brazilian head back to the attack position, no longer distracted by the defense.
With a 4-goal advantage, Emery, who is known for his offense, adopted a defensive 433 formation for the second round, with Di Maria, who dominated the victory a week ago, on the bench. Barcelona, on the other hand, sent all the attacking players: the "MSN" combination started, Iniesta and Rafinha formed the second lineup, and continued to put pressure on the mainland of the visiting team.
Despite the difficulty of turning the game around, Barcelona's determination to turn the game around was evident in the third minute of the game: Rafinha's pass caused chaos in the Paris penalty area, and Suarez appeared like a ghost in the penalty area, grabbing the ball before Trapp touched it to put it in the back of the net. Barcelona opened the first record at the moment, Paris penalty area there are six people defense!
Breaking the deadlock, the Catalan team expects to ride out the victory, and the focus of the attack has gradually shifted to the left side, with Neymar gradually becoming the most active one on the pitch. The Brazilian first hit a right-footed curling shot over the crossbar, and then was brought down by Meunier in the penalty area, the German referee Ayitegin did not want to make a move at the moment.......
Iniesta received Rakitić's pass to complete the kick wall two through one, was forced to the bottom line of the "white" clever knock ball pass, caught off guard Kurzawa clearance accidentally own goal. Shortly after the start of the second half, Neymar again singled out Meunier, and with the speed advantage to complete the overtaking, stumbling Belgian Barcelona No. 11 tripped, Ayitegin finally pointed to the penalty spot. With Messi's one-touch finish, Barcelona made it 3-4 in just 50 minutes, and the two Spaniards in the coach's box rose together: Enrique continued to applaud his disciples, while Emery's face grew more and more grave as he tried to speak.
In the second half of the game, Barcelona initially and finally obtained two penalty kicks, Messi and Neymar were punished shot. The legal standard of the on-duty referee is also a necessary condition for the birth of the "Nou Camp Spectacle".
Will Barcelona's "4-0" definitely come in the second half? "Lady Luck didn't seem to think so. After the penalty, Mernier, who was looking forward to taking credit for his crimes, continued to attack Barcelona's always empty left side, and the Belgian's initial cross found Cavani, who took a shot at the goal and bounced off the post. The game played an hour, heavy attack light defense Barcelona finally pay the price for the strong pressure tactics: assist to the center circle of Pique with a tactical foul to prevent the opponent march, Verratti long pass to find ambushed in the penalty area inland Kurzawa, too late to do the defensive action of the red and blue generals, watched as Cavani received teammates header back swing, shot the goal.
Camp Nou was silent, Emery excitedly embraced his assistant coach, and for a moment, Paris seemed to have earned the right to advance ......
At this moment, the expression of Barcelona players is divided into two distinct factions: Messi and Iniesta, who are accustomed to big scenes, showed their disappointment, while Neymar, Suarez, Ter Stegen and others refused to give up. First, the German goalkeeper blocked Cavani's quasi-single, and then Di Maria's counter-attack pass hit Pique's arm was not awarded a penalty, Barcelona avoided conceding again. The Reds and Blues didn't have to concede early, so they made a few adjustments and started attacking again, with Messi replacing Neymar as the protagonist.
It was Neymar who dominated this big win, but Messi stole the show a bit after the game when he stood up on a billboard to receive adulation and applause.
After filling the empty net and being cleared by the opposition, the Brazilian striker capitalized on the free kick opportunity he created and the ball flew wonderfully into the top of the Paris goal. The last minute before the end of regular time, Suarez broke into the penalty area, and Marquinhos fell to the ground after physical contact, Ayitekin sent Barcelona another penalty kick! The penalty was full of controversy, but there was no VAR at the time, and there was no way to change the judgment. Many neutral fans laughed that the German referee did not want Paris to advance, but did not want to miss the opportunity to "watch the show". This time, the penalty taker was Neymar, and many were puzzled because Lionel Messi was still on the pitch. The Brazilian tricked Trapp, hit the reverse corner into the net, and the Camp Nou, which had been silent for nearly half an hour, once again erupted in applause and applause. Enrique and the Barcelona fans in the stands celebrated with gestures and looks more like prayers.
In the final minutes of the game, Ter Stegen, who abandoned the goal to counterattack, became the odd man out! After the German was brought down, Barcelona, who had the same number of players as Paris in the penalty area, had the final chance to attack! The free-kick was sent over the top, Neymar was alert to the ball and found Roberto ...... in the penalty area, the closest to the goal, and the Barcelona defender darted in and slotted the ball home, giving birth to a spectacle at the Camp Nou!
Roberto, who comes from La Masia, has never broken through in La Liga before and has only a two-goal haul in the Champions League. The third breakthrough of his red and blue career will go down in history! In the midst of the mountainous roar of the Camp Nou, Enrique ran wild and cried tears of joy. When interviewed after the game, the Barcelona manager hoarse to incoherent: "Before the game I said we can score 6, is thought they will score 1!"
Then look at Emery, from relaxed to ecstatic, and then to stony and desperate ...... former UEFA Cup-winning coach was completely knocked down by fate, can only cover his face with his hands, locked eyes - he can not believe what is happening in front of him all. Since the inception of the UEFA Champions League, no team has ever been able to complete a comeback from a four-goal deficit in the first round of the knockout stage, not to mention the "hell of a difficulty" of scoring zero goals away from home. But this night, at the Camp Nou, Barcelona made the impossible possible.
Di Maria, who was substituted under 0-3 down, showed Emery's tactical contradictions. The Spanish coach wanted to hold on to the advantage, but also wanted to fight for away goals through counterattacks, which resulted in a decline in the quality of defense in the final hours.
Fate has a way of shaping the classics without realizing it, but it also gives the parties involved a mischievous continuation of the story: after 6-1, Barcelona immediately suffered a 0-3 defeat (against Juventus as guests). In the following seasons, no matter who was in charge, the "Red and Blue" could not avoid making a fool of themselves in the knockout rounds of the Champions League: 0-3 Roma, 0-4 Liverpool, 2-8 Bayern, 1-4 Paris ...... Yes, after 4 years, the Parisians are in the "Quiet Camp Nou", a place where they can be seen in the center of the city. The "quiet Camp Nou" completed the revenge, experienced the 1-6 Weilarte, Marquinhos, Kurzawa and Draxler, after the game smiled extraordinarily happy.
What is even more bizarre is that one of the protagonists of the "Camp Nou spectacle" Ayitegin: after that game, the German never appeared in the Champions League law enforcement list ......
Counting injury time, Paris Saint-Germain completed only four successful passes in the final eight minutes of their 1-6 loss to Barcelona, three of which were still openings from the center circle! Incredibly ultra-conservative and ruthlessly punishing!
"Inside Out" curse?
