Barcelona defeats PSG on aggregate in historic Champions League comeback
Barcelona completed a historic comeback Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League round-of-16, defeating Paris Saint-Germain 6-5 on aggregate to advance to the quarterfinals. The two teams met Feb. 14 in France for the first game of their round-of-16 matchup, a game PSG won 4-0, and The Guardian wrote afterwards that Barcelona would need "little short of a miracle" to advance.
The miracle began less than three minutes into Wednesday's game at Barcelona's Camp Nou, when striker Luis Suarez guided an errant ball into the back of the net over PSG's defense:
Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi then scored for Barcelona in the 40th and 50th minutes, respectively, putting the home team up 3-0. Edinson Cavani finally scratched for PSG in the 62nd minute to put the score at 3-1 in the game and give PSG a 5-3 edge on aggregate.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Two goals by Barcelona's Neymar Jr. gave each team five goals on aggregate. With the aggregate score even, PSG would have won the matchup on away goals, as it had scored more goals in Spain (one) than Barcelona scored in France on Feb. 14 (zero). But Sergi Roberto scored the winning goal in stoppage time — Barcelona's third goal since the 88th minute — to cap the wild comeback:
Before the game, ESPN's Soccer Power Index gave Barcelona just a 7 percent chance to advance to the quarterfinals. The team will join Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, and Bayern Munich in the next round.
-
Antibiotic resistance: the hidden danger on Ukraine’s frontlinesUnder The Radar Threat is spreading beyond war zones to the ‘doorstep’ of western Europe
-
‘Capitalism: A Global History’ by Sven Beckert and ‘American Canto’ by Olivia NuzziFeature A consummate history of capitalism and a memoir from the journalist who fell in love with RFK Jr.
-
Who will the new limits on student loans affect?The Explainer The Trump administration is imposing new limits for federal student loans starting on July 1, 2026
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
