Europa League: Eintracht Frankfurt knock out Barcelona

A Filip Kostic double helped Eintracht Frankfurt to win 3-2 at FC Barcelona on Thursday and continue their astonishing run in the Europa League to the semi-finals.
A reported 30,000 fans travelled from Germany for the quarter-final second leg and they had an unforgettable experience in the Camp Nou as their heroes humbled once mighty Barca.
Kostic’s penalty kick set the tone in just four minutes, after Eric Garcia fouled Jesper Lindström, and a rocket from Rafael Borre doubled the lead before the break.
“Nobody expected this, if you are honest,” Eintracht Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp said. “We needed to take our chances and today we were very efficient.
“We are in the semi-finals now and we want to get as far as possible. We showed we don’t have to hide from anybody. But, no doubt, now we want to make the final.”
FC Barcelona rallied at the start of the second period.
But Trapp saved from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Kostic drilled into the bottom corner to settle the tie on aggregate in the 67th minute.
Sergio Busquets netted to give FC Barcelona hope in injury-time, but Luuk de Jong’s penalty kick with the last action of the game, came too late to save them.
Evan Ndicka was sent off in conceding the penalty kick.
“It’s a big disappointment of course, but that’s football,” FC Barcelona coach Xavi said. “They were just better in the first half.
“We played a bit better in the second but unfortunately our goals were very late.”
Eintracht Frankfurt are mid-table in the Bundesliga but will meet West Ham in the last four, which has the first legs on April 28.
This was after the London side also won 3-0 away to Lyon following their own 1-1 first leg draw.
Craig Dawson, Declan Rice and Jarrod Bowen got the goals for David Moyes’ side who are in their first Europen semi-final since 1976.
(NAN)
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette

Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

States
Rivers pushes restorative justice to decongest prisons
She said the measures were vital to reducing prison congestion and speeding up the criminal justice process.

NationWide
German agency urges dialogue, human rights protection to deepen Nigeria’s democracy
“The destiny of a diverse society is not written by its differences, but by the choices we make together about how we live with them,” he said.

Lagos
Lagos council launches interest-free loan scheme for farmers, small business owners
The scheme covers loans ranging from N50,000 to N5 million, with the council chairman undertaking to pay the nine per cent interest on behalf of beneficiaries.

Sport
Bayelsa names Abdul Maikaba as United FC coach, targets premier league return
Mr Maikaba will be assisted by fellow experienced coach Ngozi Elechi.

States
Two dead, four injured in Osun violent clashes: Police
The police public relations officer, Abiodun Ojelabi, said on Thursday that the incidents occurred on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

NationWide
FRSC inaugurates quarters, reaffirms commitment to personnel welfare
Mr Mohammed described the project as another major milestone in the FRSC’s commitment to improving the welfare of its personnel through affordable and sustainable housing schemes.





