03/18/26 05:47:00
Printable Page
03/18 17:45 CDT Champions League: Barcelona scores 7, Liverpool revives, Bayern
cruises and Atletico survives
Champions League: Barcelona scores 7, Liverpool revives, Bayern cruises and
Atletico survives
By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer
Barcelona scored seven and Liverpool revived its season with four goals to flip
tight Champions League games Wednesday into big wins sending them to the
quarterfinals.
Atletico Madrid survived a pulsating Tottenham fightback to make it Spain 3,
England 0 in round-of-16 clashes this week.
Bayern Munich had it easiest of all, pushing aside Atalanta 4-1 on Wednesday
and 10-2 on aggregate, to get a blockbuster quarterfinal against Real Madrid.
Another Champions League goals rush was sparked by Barcelona tearing apart
Newcastle in the second half of a thrilling 7-2 win after the teams went
toe-to-toe before the break.
Tied 1-1 after the first leg in Newcastle, Barcelona surged to a victory after
Lamine Yamal's momentum-shifting penalty kick in first-half stoppage time made
the score 3-2.
Robert Lewandowski then scored twice, Fermn Lpez finished a slick move and
Raphinha got his second goal as Newcastle's defense collapsed.
Liverpool ultimately eased to a 4-0 win over Galatasaray at Anfield,
overturning a one-goal loss in Istanbul, despite Mohamed Salah missing a
penalty in first-half stoppage time when the score was 1-0.
Still, Salah was key to Liverpool's strong second half with two assists then a
goal in a performance that could restart an erratic season for the English
champions and ease growing pressure on coach Arne Slot.
Tottenham showed real character after an embarrassing 5-2 loss in Madrid last
week but was resisted by Atletico twice leveling the score in Wednesday's
second leg. Xavi Simon's late penalty at least gave Tottenham a 3-2 win on the
night.
Tottenham and Newcastle joined Manchester City, ousted by Real Madrid on
Tuesday 5-1 on aggregate score, as Premier League teams eliminated by La Liga's
best.
England had a record six teams in the competition and all reached the round of
16, but only Arsenal and Liverpool advanced. Chelsea was eliminated Tuesday by
defending champion Paris Saint-Germain.
In Munich, fit-again Bayern talisman Harry Kane scored twice against Atalanta
to end Italy's challenge in this Champions League edition.
Goals galore for Barcelona
Barcelona is scoring for fun at Camp Nou this year. It's now eight games at
home in the Champions League, La Liga or Copa del Rey and Barcelona has won all
eight, getting at least three goals each time.
Seven against Newcastle was the best yet for coach Hansi Flick team, started by
Raphinha's sixth-minute shot --- finishing a move where two Newcastle defenders
slipped to the turf --- then 18-year-old Marc Bernal found space alone in the
goalmouth in the 18th.
Newcastle soon leveled each time with rare goals from Anthony Elanga. The
Sweden winger was goalless in 35 previous games this season in the Premier
League or Champions League yet struck twice in a 13-minute spell.
Barcelona got a fast start to the second half when Lpez ran clear on to slick
passes from Gerard Martn to Raphinha to score with a well-placed shot and
Newcastle's chance was gone.
"I saw new, improved confidence in that second-half performance," Flick said.
Quarterfinals pairings
Real Madrid will play Bayern Munich, in a clash of 15-time and six-time
European champions. They still have never met in the final across 71 years of
the European Cup and Champions League.
Liverpool face defending champion PSG with the first leg at Parc des Princes.
It's a rematch of their thrilling round-of-16 games last season.
The second leg at Anfield should be on Tuesday, April 14. Liverpool has never
played on April 15 since the Hillsborough Stadium disaster on that date in 1989.
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid meet again twice just weeks after they played a
two-leg domestic cup semifinal. Then, Atletico won 4-0 at home and lost 3-0 at
Camp Nou to reach the Copa del Rey final.
Days before the Champions League quarterfinal first leg at Atletico's
Metropolitano Stadium on April 7 or 8, they are due to play there yet again in
La Liga.
Tuesday's games confirmed Arsenal, the last unbeaten team in the competition,
will face Sporting Lisbon. The Portuguese champion last played at this stage in
1983.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
|