After being down 1-0 following the opening goal, Barcelona rallied to draw 1-1 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.
KAMPALA | NOW THEN DIGITAL — Barcelona ended the tie at 1-1 with Fernando Torres’ equalizer against a spirited Eintracht Frankfurt team in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.
- Ferran Torres earns Barcelona a draw in the first leg of the quarter-final with Eintracht Frankfurt.
- Frankfurt finished the game with 10 men after Tuta was given a second yellow card for a stamp on Pedri’s ankle. The red card was the right one.
- PSV Eindhoven held Leicester to a goalless draw at home, Marseille prevailed 2-1 against PAOK Salonika, and Slavia Prague earned a 3-3 draw at Feyenoord.
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Frankfurt took an early lead in the 48th minute through Ansgar Knauff who scored with a superbly struck effort from the edge of the penalty area.
Barca who looked dull for the most part of the game until the introduction of substitutes Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong pulled matters level in the 65th minute through former Manchester City forward Ferran Torres.
Meanwhile, Frankfurt ended the game with 10 men after Tuta received a second yellow card following a stamp on Pedri’s ankle, with the red card the right decision.
Despite the red card, Frankfurt still looked the better side on the day and might live to regret some of the opportunities they missed in this game. They also saw a penalty awarded in the first half overturned following a VAR check.
Barcelona stretched their unbeaten streak to 14 games since Xavi Hernandez took charge. They are playing for the first time in the Europa League and never won its precursor, the UEFA Cup, reaching the semi-finals on four occasions but not getting to a final. Frankfurt won that competition in 1980.
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Rebuilding under recently hired coach Xavi, Barcelona has relied on big away performances to get to the last eight, beating Napoli (4-2) and Galatasaray (2-1) on the road after first-leg home draws.
In other games, 10-man West Ham also drew 1-1 with Lyon. The Hammers have reached the quarter-finals of a European competition for the first time since 1981 after eliminating six-time champions, Sevilla.
In others, Atalanta and RB Leipzig also ended in a 1-1 draw. In the Europa Conference League, Roma, one of the favourites to win UEFA’s new third-tier competition, failed to get their revenge at Bodo/Glimt, losing 2-1.
The Norwegian club routed Roma 6-1 in the group stage for Jose Mourinho’s biggest loss as a coach. Bodo/Glimt also earned a draw in the return match in Italy, and have eliminated Celtic and AZ Alkmaar in the knockout stage.
Leicester was held to a 0-0 draw by PSV Eindhoven, Marseille beat PAOK Salonika 2-1, and Slavia Prague drew 3-3 with Feyenoord in the Europa Conference League.
