Barcelona stretched their unbeaten streak to 14 games on Thursday, drawing 1-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt in their Europa League quarterfinal first leg. Xavi's side was outplayed in the first half and fortunate to only be down 1-0 in the second when Ferran Torres found the back of the net in the 66th minute to equalize. Barça played the last 12 minutes of the game a man up, but they could not get a clear look on goal to take the win, settling for a draw that in the end was an acceptable result and still puts them in the driver's seat to advance.
The draw means Barça will have to win a week from Thursday in the second leg at the Camp Nou, while a draw will force extra time and a loss will see them crash out of the competition.
Here are three takeaways from the match:
The German club, from start to finish, were the better team. A draw is a tad harsh in the end, but they need to live with it considering Tuta's red card with 12 minutes to go put them in a tricky spot. They recorded 16 shots to Barça's seven, won the battle of xG 1.22-0.85, and their pressure in the middle put Sergio Busquets off his game for much of the night.
This performance will give them the belief that they can go to the Camp Nou and pull of a surprise, but one too many missed chances in this game will likely come back to haunt them. They have the blueprint needed though.
Barça may be back, but that wasn't evident by this display. This was Barça's third-worst attacking performance in terms of xG since January and the second-lowest shots on goal (three) that they've had in three months.
The performances lately have been exceptional, scoring four goals in five different matches since the end of February. But they never really going going in this game, showing a bit of disconnect in attack, while Eintracht defended very well.
Barça completed just 83.7 percent of their passes, the lowest mark since the 3-0 loss to Bayern back in December.
Barça are usually good to respond from a poor display, and the expectation for most would be them winning the second leg and advancing. But they must be much sharper than they were here. Don't be surprised to see Busquets moved around a tad or to have Frenkie de Jong sit very close to him as an outlet. With just two goals in their last two games, some team is going to pay for them getting hot again, but Eintracht will hope it is Levante on Sunday and not them in a week's time.
Date: Thursday, April 14 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
Location: Camp Nou -- Barcelona, Spain
TV and live stream: Paramount+
The Golazo Show (All goals in one place): CBS Sports Network and Paramount+
Date: Thursday, April 7 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
Location: Deutsche Bank Park -- Frankfurt, Germany
TV and live stream: Paramount+
Odds: Eintracht Frankfurt +370; Draw +290; Barcelona -145 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
That is Tuta's second yellow, and it's warranted it would seem. Gets his marker on the heel and takes his boot off. Ref doesn't second guess it. Barca a man up and going for the win.
A great response from Barca to level things up, with de Jong finding his attacker with a crisp pass, and the Spain international did the rest. Game on!
Right from the start, it's a fine goal into the far post by the hosts! Barca are shocked and now have to respond!
That was not going to be confirmed from VAR. Busquets got the ball first, and overturning it was the right decision. Carry on, as Barca dodge a bullet.
