Eintracht Frankfurt upset Barcelona with a stunning win at the Nou Camp, to secure a place in the Europa League semi-finals against West Ham.
After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, the Germans stormed to a 3-0 lead in the second leg and appeared to be in complete control until Barcelona scored two late goals.
Filip Kostic’s goal from the penalty spot and Rafael Borre’s spectacular finish made it 2-0 for the visitors as Kostic added his second after the break.
However, Sergio Busquets’ effort and Memphis Depay’s penalty made it 2-3 to set the stage for an enthralling finish.
Evan Ndicka, a Frankfurt defender, was dismissed for a second yellow card for what appeared to be a soft foul on Luuk de Jong for the spot-kick, nine minutes tacked on due to a VAR error.
However, Frankfurt, who are tenth in the Bundesliga and won this competition in a previous incarnation in 1980, held on for a spectacular victory, much to the joy of their over 30,000 travelling supporters.
Barcelona, who have been on a roll since the arrival of Xavi, struggled to deal with Frankfurt’s slick counter-attacks, and the Bundesliga side could have had more.
Kostic scored the opening goal from the spot after Eric Garcia was fouled, but Borre scored the game-winning goal with a thunderous long-range strike into the roof of the net.
The hosts created chances of their own, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang heading over in the first half and missing a second-half header from Ousmane Dembele’s low cross.
Busquets had an earlier effort called out for offside in added time before igniting a frantic conclusion with a well-taken goal, but the hosts ran out of time when Depay’s penalty just eluded the goalkeeper.
Frankfurt can now look forward to facing David Moyes’ Hammers in the semi-finals.
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