Not since the 1940s had the beleaguered Catalans conceded eight goals in a single match, but they had no answer to Muller and Co.
Luis Suarez finally ended his seemingly endless scoring drought in the Champions League, but it proved barely a consolation as Barcelona were utterly dismantled in Friday’s record-breaking 8-2 defeat for the Catalans.
The Uruguayan led the line for his team alongside Lionel Messi at Lisbon’s Estadio da Luz as they took on Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Unfortunately for the Blaugrana, the highly anticipated tie quickly turned into a nightmare thanks to their own weaknesses in defence and Bayern’s brilliant forward play.
Thomas Muller fired the Bundesliga champions ahead after just three minutes and, while David Alaba’s own goal briefly levelled matters, Ivan Perisic and Serge Gnabry were on hand to restore Bayern’s supremacy before Muller hit again before the break.
Trailing 4-1 at half-time after a disastrous opening 45 minutes, Barca needed an early goal to keep their hopes alive.
And Suarez duly obliged with a fine finish before the hour to banish his Champions League woes.
Not since September 2015 against Roma had the forward managed to net in an away match in the competition, a startling record for a player of his calibre and marksmanship.
It took 1,952 minutes of action and no less than 69 shots to end that drought – an act that was soon made to look futile by the rampant Germans.
No sooner had Suarez given his side a shred of hope than Bayern replied with their fifth goal of the evening, this time converted by Joshua Kimmich.
Forty-four years had passed since the last time Barcelona had conceded five in a single European clash, when they went down 5-4 to Levski Sofia in March 1976 in the UEFA Cup.
8 – Barcelona conceded eight goals in a game for the first time since losing 8-0 to Sevilla in the Copa del Rey Last 16 in 1946. Curtains. #UCL pic.twitter.com/Yr56weOOUj
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 14, 2020
But if Barca thought at that point the worst had passed, they were sorely mistaken.
Lewandowski hit a sixth for unstoppable Bayern before Philippe Coutinho added insult to injury with a late double against his parent club, sealing a final, humiliating scoreline of 8-2.
Yet another historic worst was thus recorded, with Barca conceding eight goals in a single match for the first time since 1946, when Sevilla inflicted an 8-0 thrashing on the Catalans in the Copa del Rey.
Bayern now advance to the semi finals of this rescheduled Champions League competition, which is being decided by a single match from the last eight onwards due to the postponement of the planned calendar during the coronavirus lockdown.
The semi will take place on August 19 against the winner of Manchester City‘s encounter with Lyon on Saturday.
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