MY ACCOUNT
Eintracht Frankfurt produced a stunning performance — and held off Barcelona’s late comeback — as they reached the Europa League semi-finals with a remarkable 3-2 second-leg victory at Camp Nou on Thursday.
The two sides played out a 1-1 draw in Germany last week, and any thoughts Xavi’s men had of brushing aside their opponents on home turf were dispelled in the fourth minute when Filip Kostic scored from the penalty spot.
It got even better for the visitors before the break when Borre crashed home from outside the penalty area, before Kostic’s second in the 67th minute seemingly put the seal on one of the club’s most famous ever victories.
Barca mounted a comeback in the 12 minutes of stoppage time that were played as Sergio Busquets fired into the bottom corner from outside the box and Memphis Depay smashed a spot-kick in off a combination of goalkeeper and crossbar as Evan Ndicka was sent off, but could not do enough to prevent a shock exit.
Oliver Glasner’s men will now face West Ham in the last four after they overcame Lyon.
Barca started dismally and fell behind in the fourth minute when Kostic slammed home from the spot after Eric Garcia had hauled down Jesper Lindstrom in the area.
They then went 2-0 down in the 36th minute courtesy of a stunning 25-yard strike from Borre that flashed past Marc-Andre ter Stegen and into the roof of the net.
Frankfurt then ensured the scoreline had a scarcely believable look when Kostic drilled across Ter Stegen for his second of the game.
Busquets retaliated in the 91st minute, lashing in from range after Luuk de Jong’s initial effort was blocked.
And Ndicka conceded a penalty and received a second yellow card that gave Depay the chance to reduce the arrears further in the 11th minute of stoppage time, which the Dutchman did, but it was too late for the Blaugrana to salvage the tie.
What does it mean? Barca’s unbeaten run comes to a crashing halt
Few expected Barca’s 15-game unbeaten streak to come to an end against a team languishing ninth in the Bundesliga, but Frankfurt were excellent value for their win.
Kostic’s game to remember
Kostic started and ended the scoring for Frankfurt, while he also played the key pass before Borre’s glorious strike. That made him the first player to score and assist in a single European game against Barcelona at Camp Nou since Juninho Pernambucano for Lyon in March 2009 in the Champions League.
Barca’s spot-kick woes continue
Garcia’s early penalty concession was Barca’s fourth in their last two games – as many as in their previous 55 matches in all competitions. Indeed, Kostic’s penalty was the earliest conceded by the Catalan giants in all competitions since the 2004-05 season.
What’s next?
Barca will need to lift themselves when they host Cadiz in LaLiga on Monday, while a buoyant Frankfurt visit Union Berlin in the Bundesliga a day earlier.
