Four years on, Barcelona are back in the Champions League quarter-finals. On the edge in footballing and financial terms, this was the game they just could not afford to lose but while all the talk had been of obligation, Xavi Hernández had described it as an opportunity, and so it was. High on Montjuic, it became a night to be enjoyed and remembered. Not least, perhaps, as the first of many European occasions for three exceptional La Masia kids: Pau Cubarsí, Fermín López and Lamine Yamal, a defender, midfielder and forward, aged 17, 20 and 16, who were decisive in the undoing of Napoli and offer the promise of a better future, the pessimism pushed aside here. Vindication took its place.
“We were the buffoon of the Champions League, everyone said,” Xavi insisted afterwards. “And now what?” Now, for Friday’s draw, where few expected them to be. These have been difficult times in this temporary home, an Olympic stadium Barcelona do not feel as their own. With Gavi, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong all out and a coach who has already announced his departure when the season ends, the fear had grown that it might in effect end here. Instead there were celebrations, and for good reason: Barcelona’s 3-1 win, 4-2 on aggregate, was deserved, the shot count reaching 24.
