Barcelona Run Riot Against The Magpies

Barcelona and Newcastle United played the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 match at Camp Nou in Barcelona. The first leg in Newcastle finished 1–1. Newcastle scored first, but Lamine Yamal scored a late penalty for Barcelona. So both teams still had a good chance to go through to the quarter-finals.

More than 56,000 fans came to watch the match at Camp Nou. Newcastle brought about 3,000 supporters to Spain. It was a very important night for both teams.

A Crazy First Half

The first half was very exciting. There were five goals in 45 minutes!

Barcelona scored first in the 6th minute. Raphinha got the ball after a Newcastle defender slipped, and he scored calmly. But Newcastle did not give up. In the 15th minute, Anthony Elanga scored a great goal to make it 1–1. Lewis Hall made a good run down the left side and crossed the ball. Elanga finished well at the far post.

Three minutes later, Barcelona scored again. Marc Bernal headed the ball into the net from a free kick. It was 2–1 to Barcelona.

But Elanga was brilliant! He scored again in the 28th minute from another cross by Harvey Barnes. The score was 2–2. Newcastle fans were very happy.

Just before half-time, Barcelona got a penalty after a VAR check. Kieran Trippier pulled Raphinha’s arm. Lamine Yamal scored from the penalty spot to make it 3–2. It was a very dramatic end to the first half.

Half-time: Barcelona 3 – 2 Newcastle

A Terrible Second Half for Newcastle

The second half was completely different. Barcelona dominated the game and scored four more goals. Newcastle could not stop them.

Fermín López scored the fourth goal in the 51st minute after a beautiful team move. Then Robert Lewandowski scored two goals in just five minutes (56th and 61st minutes). The first was a powerful header, and the second was a great finish after a pass from Yamal.

Raphinha scored his second goal in the 72nd minute to make it 7–2. He had a fantastic game. Newcastle’s players looked very tired and could not defend well.

The final score was Barcelona 7 – Newcastle 2. Over the two legs, Barcelona won 8–3 on aggregate. It was a very sad night for Newcastle.

Full-time: Barcelona 7 – 2 Newcastle

Aggregate: Barcelona 8 – 3 Newcastle

Goal Scorers

Barcelona	Newcastle
Raphinha (6’, 72’) Marc Bernal (18’) Lamine Yamal (45+7’, pen) Fermín López (51’) Robert Lewandowski (56’, 61’)	Anthony Elanga (15’, 28’)

After the Match

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick was very happy with the result. His team played brilliantly in the second half. Barcelona will now play in the Champions League quarter-finals.

For Newcastle, it was a very difficult night. They played well in the first half, but they could not keep playing at the same level. Manager Eddie Howe will be very disappointed. Newcastle’s Champions League adventure is over.

The star of the match was Raphinha. He scored two goals and also helped other players score. Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski also had great games.

Lewandowski made history too. At 37 years old, he became the oldest player to score two goals in a Champions League match.

Glossary

These are the difficult words from the report. They are useful football words for English learners.

Word	Meaning
round of 16	the last 16 teams in a competition play against each other
penalty	a free kick from 12 yards (about 11 metres) because a player did something wrong inside the penalty area (the box)
quarter-finals	the last 8 teams in a competition play against each other
supporter	a person who wants their team to win; a fan
defender	a player whose job is to stop the other team from scoring
crossed (verb: to cross)	to kick the ball from the side of the pitch to the middle, usually near the goal
post	one of the two tall, white sticks on each side of the goal
free kick	a kick given to a team when the other team breaks a rule
VAR	Video Assistant Referee – a person who watches the game on video and helps the referee make the right decision
penalty spot	the white mark on the pitch where a player takes a penalty kick
dramatic	very exciting, with a surprise or strong emotion
dominated (verb: to dominate)	to have much more control of the game than the other team
move (noun)	a series of passes between players that leads to a chance or a goal
header	when a player uses their head to hit the ball
final score	the score at the end of the match
on aggregate	the total score from both matches (first leg + second leg) added together
disappointed	sad because something did not go the way you wanted
oldest	the person who has lived the most years (superlative of ‘old’)

Vocabulary Exercises

Exercise 1: Match the Word

Match each word (1–6) with the correct meaning (a–f).

Words	Meanings
1. penalty	a) when a player kicks the ball across the field to another player
2. header	b) a free kick from 12 yards because of a foul in the box
3. cross	c) to have more control of the game than the other team
4. supporter	d) a goal scored with the head
5. dominate	e) a person who wants their team to win
6. on aggregate	f) the total score from both matches together

Exercise 2: Fill in the Gaps

Use the words in the box to complete the sentences.

penalty     defender     crossed     dramatic     disappointed     quarter-finals

1. Raphinha scored after a Newcastle ________________ slipped on the grass.

2. The referee gave Barcelona a ________________ after Trippier pulled Raphinha’s arm.

3. Harvey Barnes ________________ the ball to Elanga, who scored at the far post.

4. Barcelona will now play in the ________________ of the Champions League.

5. Eddie Howe was very ________________ with how his team played in the second half.

6. It was a ________________ end to the first half, with a penalty in stoppage time.

Exercise 3: True or False?

Read the match report again. Write T (True) or F (False) next to each sentence.

1. The first leg finished 2–1 to Barcelona.   _____

2. Anthony Elanga scored two goals for Newcastle.   _____

3. Barcelona scored four goals in the second half.   _____

4. Robert Lewandowski scored a header.   _____

5. Newcastle won 8–3 on aggregate.   _____

6. There were more than 50,000 fans at the match.   _____

Answers Below

Answer Key

Exercise 1: Match the Word

1 – b,   2 – d,   3 – a,   4 – e,   5 – c,   6 – f

Exercise 2: Fill in the Gaps

1. defender

2. penalty

3. crossed

4. quarter-finals

5. disappointed

6. dramatic

Exercise 3: True or False?

1. False – The first leg finished 1–1.

2. True

3. True – Fermín López, Lewandowski (x2), and Raphinha scored in the second half.

4. True – His first goal was a powerful header.

5. False – Barcelona won 8–3 on aggregate.

6. True – The attendance was 56,662.