Lewandowski and Raphinha double up as Barcelona run riot against Newcastle
For a while, Newcastle made this fun, but they did not make it through, all that hope giving way to hurt. By the time the final whistle went at the Camp Nou, as the Barcelona fans sang their anthem and the exhausted men in black and white made their way slowly towards their supporters positioned above a scoreboard that showed 7-2, it seemed almost absurd to say that they had played their part, but they had. In the end, though, history was made by Hansi Flick’s side, not Eddie Howe’s; ultimately, the big night belonged to the hosts, securing an unimaginable result not seen here in three decades.
Howe had said that his side could not and would not shrink at the Camp Nou and, for much of a historic tie that he described as the biggest in their recent history, they didn’t. Not in the first leg, when it had taken a 96th-minute penalty to deny them a victory, and not when they went behind after just six minutes of the second leg; not even when they went behind a second time after 18 minutes. It wasn’t until the third time that it became a step too far. And then, it is true, they were taken to pieces.
