Wow, did you catch all that weekend action? If not, do not despair: ESPN will tell you about Barcelona’s best performance of the season and Borussia Dortmund’s worst, as well as a to-and-fro Milan derby, Paris Saint-Germain scoring five and Senegal finally claiming AFCON glory. Oh, and we have some FA Cup heroics as well!
Here are Sam Marsden, Derek Rae, Andrew Cesare Richardson, Julien Laurens and Ed Dove with what you need to know, with five of the most significant moments from the FA Cup fourth round mixed in.
Go to: Brilliant Barca | Dortmund dumped | Milan magic | Prime PSG | Senegal succeed
New-look Barcelona deliver Xavi’s biggest win
Thanks to a thrilling 4-2 win over reigning champions Atletico Madrid 4-2 at Camp Nou, Barcelona ended the weekend in the Champions League places in LaLiga for the first time since Xavi Hernandez took over in November.
Atletico briefly led through Yannick Carrasco before Barca scored four without reply, with Jordi Alba, Gavi, Ronald Araujo and Dani Alves finding the net on a day that also saw minutes for January signings Adama Traore, who impressed from the start, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who came off the bench.
It was not entirely straightforward and the party atmosphere among home fans turned to nerves during the final 30 minutes after ex-Blaugrana hero Luis Suarez pulled Atletico within two and Alves was sent off, following a VAR review, for a foul on Carrasco. However, Barca held strong.
Xavi lauded two fantastic performances at full-time: One when it was 11 vs. 11 and another when his side was were forced to dig in with 10 men to close out the win that takes Barca above Atletico and into the top four.
This “could be a turning point,” said Xavi, and there is positivity around the club; January’s business added depth to the extent that Aubameyang and Ousmane Dembele, who was booed on his return to the squad…
Source : espn
