Barcelona Crash Out of Europa League After Shock 3:2 Loss to Eintracht Frankfurt at Nou Camp

Barcelona Crash Out of Europa League After Shock 3:2 Loss to Eintracht Frankfurt at Nou Camp

Chukwu Ikechukwu
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:00 PM
  • Filip Kostic was the hero for Eintracht Frankfurt as the Bundesliga club recorded one of the biggest upsets in this season’s Europa League
  • The Serbian striker scored a brace as Frankfurt recorded a shock 3-2 win over Barcelona in front of their home fans at the Nou Camp
  • Barcelona and Eintracht Frankfurt played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg last week, with Ferran Torres scoring a 66th-minute equaliser after Ansgar Knauff had put Frankfurt in front

Barcelona suffered an embarrassing loss at the Camp Nou as they were surprisingly knocked out of the Europa League by Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Blaugrana’s were convincingly thrashed by the Bundesliga side 3-2 in front of a capacity crowd at the Nou Camp who had hoped for another glorious European night in the Catalan City.

Barcelona, Eintracht Frankfurt, Europa League, Memphis Depay, Ousmane Dembele
Eintracht Frankfurt qualified to the semi-final of the Europa League after defeating Barcelona 4-3 on aggregate. Photo by David Ramos
Source: Getty Images

Xavi had started with his preferred front three with Ferran Torres, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Ousmane Dembele but they were largely ineffective against a determined Frankfurt side.

How it happened

Barcelona had a nightmare start to the game as Eric Garcia conceded a 3rd-minute penalty for the hosts with Filip Kostic cooly converting from the spot to give Frankfurt a 1-0 lead.

The Bundesliga side pulled off another brilliant move to score their second on the night and extend the aggregate scoreline to 3-1 after Rafael Santos Borre scored a stunner from almost 30-years out.

The game was buried by Eintracht Frankfurt in the second half as Kostic scored his second for the Bundesliga side to the disbelief of the Barcelona fans at the Nou Camp.

Barcelona offered a late fightback as Sergio Busquets and Memphis Depay scored for the Catalan giants in added time but it was too little too late for the former European Champions.

Frankfurt continue Spanish dominance

Meanwhile, Eintracht Frankfurt continued their unbeaten run against Spanish opposition after their surprise victory against Barcelona.

In their last 10 games against Spanish sides in European competition, the Bundesliga side has won 6 games and drawn 4 including the last 5 away from home.

The German side had won 2-1 away to Real Betis in the previous round this season to book their quarter-final spot against Barcelona.

Pique Set to Miss Europa League Game Against Eintracht Frankfurt

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Gerard Pique has been ruled out for Barcelona as they prepare to host Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League second leg at Nou Camp.

The 35-year-old defender picked up an adductor injury and was forced to miss the Blaugrana’s thriller against Levante where the Catalans came from behind twice to earn a 3-2 win.

Barcelona will also be without Sergi Roberto, Sergino Dest, and Samuel Umtiti who are all out due to injury, while Dani Alves is ruled out.

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Chukwu Ikechukwu
Chukwu Ikechukwu Godwin is a journalist with over 9 years of experience in the Nigerian media industry. He has worked both in Radio (Today FM, Rhythm FM, Wish FM) and Television (Silverbird TV) as a Sports Analyst..
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