FOOTBALL – BARCELONA stormed into the Champions League quarter-finals with a thumping 7-2 victory over Newcastle United at Camp Nou last night, sealing an emphatic 8-3 aggregate triumph in a compelling round-of-16 tie.
Raphinha opened the scoring in the sixth minute after Fermin Lopez led a swift counter attack, but Anthony Elanga levelled nine minutes later from Lewis Hall’s cross. Marc Bernal restored Barca’s lead from a Raphinha free kick before Elanga struck again in the 28th minute after Lamine Yamal failed to clear.
Yamal made amends by converting a spot kick deep into first-half added time after VAR spotted Kieran Trippier’s foul on Raphinha inside the box and Barca came storming back from the break to score four goals in the second half.
Fermin added a fourth in the 52nd minute and Robert Lewandowski scored twice in quick succession, first with a header from a corner and then from Yamal’s through ball.
Raphinha sealed the rout in the 73rd minute after a Jacob Ramsey mistake, with the Catalan side now set to meet Atletico Madrid in the next round.
Atletico withstood a rousing Tottenham Hotspur fightback to reach the quarter-final with a 7-5 aggregate victory despite a 3-2 loss in north London.
Diego Simeone’s side, who scored four times in the opening 22 minutes in last week’s 5-2 first leg home romp, wobbled under a Spurs onslaught but goals by Julian Alvarez and David Hancko gave them some breathing space.
Randal Kolo Muani’s header gave Tottenham a halftime lead and fuelled hopes of a great escape.
Alvarez rifled in an equaliser shortly after halftime but when Xavi Simons restored Tottenham’s lead with a curled effort soon after, hope was restored for the hosts.
Atletico keeper Juan Musso made some crucial saves as Tottenham poured forward but Hancko’s near-post header stopped them in their tracks.
A 90th-minute penalty tucked away by Simons in the 90th minute came too late but it at least provided a morale-boost for Tottenham
Meanwhile, Liverpool put their indifferent form behind them and marched into the quarter-finals as they dismantled Galatasaray 4-0 at Anfield for a 4-1 aggregate win.
Dominik Szoboszlai put Liverpool in front in the 25th minute and they could have been ahead on aggregate before the break but Mohamed Salah had a tame penalty saved.
Liverpool ran riot after the break, with goals from Hugo Ekitike, Ryan Gravenberch and Salah as the visitors had no answer to a near-perfect performance.
Liverpool will play champions Paris St Germain in the quarter-finals.
At Munich, forward Harry Kane scored twice as Bayern Munich crushed Atalanta 4-1 for an aggregate 10-2 demolition to reach the last eight.
Kane became the first English player to reach 50 goals in the Champions League and he needed 66 matches, making him the third-fastest to reach the milestone.
The Bavarians, chasing a treble of titles, will next face Real Madrid in a mouth-watering quarter-final between two continental heavyweights who have been European champions a combined 21 times.
With Bayern keeper Jonas Urbig having recovered from last week’s concussion just in time, Bayern were on the attack from the start despite carrying a 6-1 advantage from the first leg.
Kane opened his account with a 25th-minute penalty, which he had to retake after keeper Marco Sportiello had saved his first effort but had moved off the line too early.
The England captain, who is also the leading Bundesliga scorer, then added his 10th Champions League goal of the season nine minutes after the restart when he spectacularly shook off two players, turned and fired in for 2-0.
Teenager Lennart Karl bagged the third goal just two minutes later from a Luis Diaz assist, and Karl returned the favour with a pin-point cross for the Colombian to get on to the scoresheet as well in the 70th. Lazar Samardzic grabbed a late consolation goal for the Italians.
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