The Blaugrana came from a goal down to beat Galatasaray 2-1 on the night – and on aggregate – and book their place in the next round of the UEFA Europa League.
They might have tailed off on the domestic front, but thanks to a 2-1 win over Galatasaray, Barcelona’s chances of winning a continental cup have received a major boost. The Catalans progressed to the last eight of the UEFA Europa League with an aggregate win over the Turkish side, where they will draw one of RB Leipzig, West Ham United, Atalanta, Rangers, Eintracht Frankfurt, Lyon, or Braga.
Marcao headed Galatasaray in front from a corner in the 28th minute, sparking delirium inside the ground. But the lead lasted just nine minutes; Pedri levelled the tie in the 37th minute with a composed finish after being played through on goal by Ferran Torres.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang nearly put the Spanish giants in front in first-half stoppage time, only for his header to bounce back off the bar. However, the Gabonese forward did give his team the lead, four minutes after the restart, tapping in from close range after Inaki Pena had made two superb stops earlier in the same phase of play.
Barcelona were the only LaLiga side to progress to the next round. Andalusian pair, Sevilla and Real Betis, were both knocked out of the competition at the Round-of-16 stage by West Ham and Eintracht Frankfurt, respectively. Remarkably, both sides conceded the crucial goal in extra-time – Sevilla through Andriy Yarmolenko, after Thomas Soucek’s earlier goal had forced the thirty-minutes, and Betis through Martin Hinteregger in the 120th minute of their tie.
Frankfurt joined RB Leipzig, who were given a bye to the next round after Spartak Moscow’s disqualification, but their Bundesliga peers at Bayer Leverkusen were left to rue missed chances after exiting the competition due to a 1-0 (2-4, aggregate) defeat against Atalanta. Rangers, Lyon, and Braga completed the quarter-finals line-up – courtesy of their two-legged wins over Crvena Zvezda, Porto, and AS Monaco, respectively.
