Barcelona made Champions League history by recovering from a 4-0 last-16 deficit to beat Paris St-Germain in the second leg on Wednesday.
According to midfielder Ivan Rakitic, Barca’s stunning comeback against the French side – the biggest second-leg turnaround in Champions League history – was “crazy and unbelievable”.
“It was really impossible,” added the Croatian. And manager Enrique said: “I was brought to my knees.”
Looking to overturn a four-goal deficit, Barca hit back through Luis Suarez’s header, Layvin Kurzawa’s own goal and Lionel Messi’s penalty to go 3-0 up.
Their hopes looked to have faded when Edinson Cavani smashed in just after the hour mark, but Neymar had other ideas with a stunning free-kick on 88 minutes, before stroking in a penalty three minutes later.
With time running out, the Brazilian chipped the ball into the box for Sergi Roberto to stab home the winning goal and send the Nou Camp into raptures.
Enrique added: “I don’t think anyone stopped believing. After seeing them sit back despite the goal, the team were incredible.
“We risked everything and it paid off. You get finales like this very occasionally in football and this time it was our turn.
“A feat like this does everyone good and I’m delighted to enjoy a moment like this. The key was our efficiency. The sixth goal was scored with the hope of the fan who was on the other side of the world.”
Poste by Juliet Ekwebelam (Source: BBC)
