A resurgent Barcelona on Thursday met their toughest challenge since Xavi‘s takeover in the form of Eintracht Frankfurt, which ended with the Germans beating the Blaugrana 3-2 at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona got off to a nightmarish start as Eric Garcia conceded a penalty in the 2nd minute of the match. The spot-kick was immaculately dispatched by Frankfurt’s Filip Kostic, who sent Barca keeper Ter Stegen the wrong way.

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The Blaugrana’s attempts to get back into the game after their disappointing start only turned into frustration, as the hosts were unable to fashion clear cut opportunities against Frankfurt’s organised defence.

Barca’s growing frustration allowed Frankfurt to capitalise on loose touches and misplaced passes, and the visitors soon found themselves 2-0 up on the night, courtesy of a thunderous strike from range by Rafael Santos Borré Maury in the 36th minute.

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With Barca struggling to hold on till half-time, Frankfurt had a golden opportunity bury the game after Knauff burst into space, but the German sent his shot fizzing over the crossbar.

While everyone expected a much-improved performance by Barcelona in the second-half, Frankfurt continued to be the better side and were rewarded for their efforts 20 minutes into the half, when Kostic converted again in the 67th minute.

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Barcelona thought they had pulled one goal back in the 84th minute through a close range strike by captain Sergio Busquets, but a VAR check found the Spaniard offside, leading to the goal being ruled out.

However, the drama was far from over: in the nine minutes of stoppage time at the end of the game, Busquets scored another goal, which stood, leading to an intense period of Barcelona pressure.

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The pressure paid off, as Barca won a last minute penalty after Evan Ndicka got sent off, and although Depay scored from the spot, it was too late.

The match finally ended 3-2 in Frankfurt’s favour at the end of the 90, taking the Germans to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League on an aggregate score of 4-3 over the two-legged tie with Barcelona.