Look, I think it's time we addressed the elephant in the room, the truth we all know but can't bring ourselves to admit, the monster hiding under the bed of our fandom.
Soccer is boring.
La espectacular celebracion de Luis Enrique cuando todavia no había finalizado el partido pic.twitter.com/XhfFqlVLvF
— FCBarcelona Live (@VidaBlaugrana_) March 8, 2017
Before Wednesday’s historic events at the Camp Nou, everyone had agreed that Barcelona would need to play a perfect match to turn the tide against Paris Saint-Germain. They would need to do unto PSG as PSG had done unto them. Sure, Barcelona could score four goals, but could they keep Edinson Cavani, Lucas Moura, Julian Draxler and Angel Di Maria off the scoresheet?
Barcelona’s historic comeback on Wednesday night will serve as a landmark for Champions League football for as long as the competition exists. After that horrific performance in Paris that saw the Catalan side thrashed 4-0, it’s safe to say that nobody outside of Barcelona thought they could mount a comeback. Yet somehow they managed to pull through to the quarters, even with giving up the away goal that many expected to be their demise.
The nail was in the coffin. Then, Barcelona did what only Barcelona could. The Blaugranes scored 3 goals in a span of 7 minutes to shock PSG in what was the biggest blown lead since the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51 (sorry Falcons fans), and the biggest blown lead in Champions League history.
It is absolute bedlam in the Camp Nou. Barcelona notched their third goal in the 49th minute to bring the aggregate scoreline to 3-4. Iniesta sent what looked to be a harmless ball to Neymar, but the Brazilian hustled his way forward and Thomas Meunier lost his footing clashing into Neymar. It was an odd penalty, but a penalty nonetheless.
After Luis Suarez’s silly first goal, Barcelona found their second lifeline and the goal was just as silly as the first. This time it was PSG’s Layvin Kurzawa finding the back of his own net after a crazy sequence. Luis Suarez fed Andres Iniesta who’s determination caused confusion for the PSG defenders. Then the captain delivered a nifty little back heel and PSG’s Kurzawa attempted a clearance that ended up in the back of the net.
We knew Barcelona wouldn't go quietly into the night, and they indeed have not done that. Luis Suarez scored in the third minute, and now it's on.
That's the start Barcelona needed!
Suarez gets the 3rd minute goal to put them up 1-0 on the night (1-4 agg.). #UCL https://t.co/3nn99ddr7p— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 8, 2017
In this second part of a dinner conversation between PSG’s Marco Verratti, Julian Draxler, Thomas Meunier and Blaise Matuidi, the PSG teammates discuss Wednesday’s return leg against Barcelona in the Champions League round of 16.
With PSG holding a 4-0 advantage after their dominating display in Paris, you could forgive them for being in a more relaxed mood while discussing the second match at the Camp Nou. That’s anything but the case here.
It all started so beautifully for Napoli inside a rocking Stadio San Paolo in Naples in their second leg match against Real Madrid. A mesmerizing buildup led to a really well taken goal by Dries Mertens in the 24th minute.