It doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s the Champions League or Europa League for Barcelona when it comes to facing German sides. One way or another, they’re on the wrong side of the result.
EIntracht Frankfurt supporters overtook the Camp Nou to see their side beat the Catalans 3-2 and advance to the semifinals of the Europa League.
The Bundesliga outfit scored their first goal within the first four minutes of the game thanks to a penalty committed by Eric Garcia. Filip Kostic scored the first of his brace to put the visitors ahead.
Try as they might, Barcelona couldn’t get into the game thanks to Frankfurt’s tactics. They didn’t let the defense connect with the midfield, therefore forcing long balls and causing a lot of misplaced passes. It was similar to what they showed in the first leg.
Rafael Santos Borre doubled Eintracht’s lead with a fantastic strike from distance that Marc-Andre ter Stegen was unable to stop. The final nail in the coffin came in the 67th minute as Kostic got his second of the night from a throw-in, showing how on top of Barcelona that Frankfurt were simply in terms of determination.
Barcelona managed to get two goals in added time but it wasn’t enough. It was another disastrous European night at the Camp Nou.
Despite Kostic scoring in the fourth minute, some may argue the match was lost before the whistle was even blown.
A large multitude of Eintracht Frankfurt fans made their way inside the Camp Nou and essentially turned the game into a home match for Oliver Glasner’s men.
For the visiting fans to be felt more had to have been an embarrassment to the board. It was for a section of Barcelona supporters who refused to come out for the opening minutes of the second half to show their displeasure.
Araújo: "I was surprised that there were so many fans from Eintracht Frankfurt here, in our stadium. The club will have to see what happened."
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) April 14, 2022
How the club allowed this to happen is sure to be a talking point in the days to come but it should not overshadow that Barcelona were simply second best throughout both legs.
Eintracht are deserved winners. They attacked with more intent, were clinical and defended well. Barcelona were unable to break them down and some of the deficiencies Xavi had worked to improve were once again evident.
It was yet another example of how the Blaugrana have enough quality to overcome opponents in LaLiga. It’s a different story entirely when it comes to Europe.
The Europa League was not a competition Barcelona wanted to be in. But finding themselves in it after a disastrous Champions League group stage, their objective was to win it and now they’re out in the quarterfinals.
The only thing remaining for Xavi and his team is to play out the remainder of the league season and finish in the top four. Once the summer comes, there will be plenty of time to reinforce the team with new signings. These new signings will go a long way into making the Camp Nou a fortress once again and avoiding more European embarrassments.