When Barcelona took to the field at the Parc des Princes, few anticipated them being torn to shreds by Paris Saint-Germain.
The French side put four past their opponents, with Ángel Di María the star of the show with a brace, and – if anything – the hosts could have scored even more.
That is sublime, Di Maria! @PSG_English are running riot.😱 #PSGFCB #UCL https://t.co/iSPUbYeSVL
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 14, 2017
Barcelona haven’t exited Europe’s top competition at the last-16 stage for a full decade, with Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool the last side to eliminate them before the quarter-finals, and they face a tall order to even come close to overturning the 4-0 deficit.
So, were people shedding a tear for the struggles of Messi, Neymar, Suárez, Iniesta and co? Well, maybe Barça fans were, but they were a pretty lonely bunch.
https://twitter.com/joehallwords/status/831608421942181888
This is truly ridiculous. Barca getting treated the way Rick James used to treat Charlie Murphy. #PSGFCB
— Shane Thomas (@tokenbg) February 14, 2017
https://twitter.com/FutbolsaCountry/status/831608845382344704
lmaoooooooooooooooooooooooo get in the bin barca
— allyn, probably (@allynhii) February 14, 2017
People were baying for blood, even after Edinson Cavani rounded off the scoring in the second half.
https://twitter.com/janhopis/status/831614089906491392
But we should give credit to PSG, who put in one of the best European performances of any club in the last few years.
…uh-huh Barca have been bad. They're still Barcelona. It's not like PSG have caught Nantes on an off-night…
— PhilippaB (@Philby1976) February 14, 2017
And, after some glorious seasons, perhaps a changing of the guard is just what we needed.
Verratti showing Barca how their midfield used to play
— James Horncastle (@JamesHorncastle) February 14, 2017
Some are saying it could be the end for manager Luis Enrique.
Damn, I'm really going to miss Luis Enrique when they shoot him out of a cannon at the end of this year
— Zito (@_Zeets) February 14, 2017
But it’s not that bad, right?
This is absolutely farcical from Barcelona. What are they playing at. #getPardsin
— Jack Pitt-Brooke (@JackPittBrooke) February 14, 2017
Catch up with this week’s episode of 888sport Football Friday Live