After a disappointing Bundesliga campaign that finds them in 10th, Bayer Leverkusen have decided to relieve Roger Schmidt of his coaching duties. Schmidt was in his third season with the club before getting the sack.
The final straw was a devastating 6-2 loss to Borussia Dortmund. It was Leverkusen's fourth loss in six Bundesliga games.
Before Wednesday’s historic events at the Camp Nou, everyone had agreed that Barcelona would need to play a perfect match to turn the tide against Paris Saint-Germain. They would need to do unto PSG as PSG had done unto them. Sure, Barcelona could score four goals, but could they keep Edinson Cavani, Lucas Moura, Julian Draxler and Angel Di Maria off the scoresheet?
Barcelona’s historic comeback on Wednesday night will serve as a landmark for Champions League football for as long as the competition exists. After that horrific performance in Paris that saw the Catalan side thrashed 4-0, it’s safe to say that nobody outside of Barcelona thought they could mount a comeback. Yet somehow they managed to pull through to the quarters, even with giving up the away goal that many expected to be their demise.
The nail was in the coffin. Then, Barcelona did what only Barcelona could. The Blaugranes scored 3 goals in a span of 7 minutes to shock PSG in what was the biggest blown lead since the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51 (sorry Falcons fans), and the biggest blown lead in Champions League history.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a hat-trick, with two of those strikes being assisted by Christian Pulisic, and the 18-year-old American registered his first Champions League goal as Borussia Dortmund eased past Benfica and into the Champions League quarterfinals, winning 4-1 on aggregate.
Dortmund were kicking themselves after throwing away a number of great opportunities in the first leg and found themselves trailing 1-0 in the tie before today’s match. However, those frustrations were quickly forgotten when Aubameyang opened the scoring in the fourth minute.
It is absolute bedlam in the Camp Nou. Barcelona notched their third goal in the 49th minute to bring the aggregate scoreline to 3-4. Iniesta sent what looked to be a harmless ball to Neymar, but the Brazilian hustled his way forward and Thomas Meunier lost his footing clashing into Neymar. It was an odd penalty, but a penalty nonetheless.
A beautifully composed finish from 18-year-old American attacker Christian Pulisic has given Dortmund a 2-1 aggregate lead over Benfica in the Champions League round of 16. Pulisic provided the assist for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and almost had another with a great pass to the striker, but he’s now gotten himself on the scoresheet with a wonderful finish.
After Luis Suarez’s silly first goal, Barcelona found their second lifeline and the goal was just as silly as the first. This time it was PSG’s Layvin Kurzawa finding the back of his own net after a crazy sequence. Luis Suarez fed Andres Iniesta who’s determination caused confusion for the PSG defenders. Then the captain delivered a nifty little back heel and PSG’s Kurzawa attempted a clearance that ended up in the back of the net.
Borussia Dortmund have leveled their Champions League round of 16 tie at 1-1 after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored with a header. A Dortmund corner kick was driven into the box, and American forward Christian Pulisic provided a deft flick with his head to find Aubameyang free to score the equalizer.
We knew Barcelona wouldn't go quietly into the night, and they indeed have not done that. Luis Suarez scored in the third minute, and now it's on.
That's the start Barcelona needed!
Suarez gets the 3rd minute goal to put them up 1-0 on the night (1-4 agg.). #UCL https://t.co/3nn99ddr7p— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 8, 2017