10-man Frankfurt play 1-1 draw with Barcelona in the Europa League

Barcelona continued their unbeaten run since December when they held German side Frankfurt to a 1-1 draw on Thursday evening in the Europa League.

Xavi has overseen his team go 22 matches without a loss which now stretches back to December 8, which is a huge revolution from the dismal way the club started the season.

After an average first half, Frankfurt took the lead just under the first ten minutes of the second half when Ansgar Knauff struck a spectacular long-range strike.

However, Ferran Torres made it level in the 66th minute of the encounter to preserve Barcelona’s unbeaten run. The German side was reduced to ten men when Mike Dean issued a red card to one of their players.

With the second leg slated for the Camp Nou next week, whoever the winner on aggregate qualifies for the semifinal to face West Ham or Lyon. Both sides also played out a 1-1 draw in London.

Barcelona manager Xavi has hailed the performance of former Manchester City forward Ferran Torres, whom he described as a pure talent while explaining that the Bundesliga team was a difficult team to beat.

“The goal is a great goal, pure talent of the players, and It was a very difficult and physical opponent. We didn’t know how to stop their transitions, we were thicker than normal, and the pitch wasn’t in the best conditions. We generated fewer chances than normal, but we’re satisfied with the result. Normally, the one who proposes generates more, but today, it was the other way around. This is Europe; everything is complicated. It will be complicated at Camp Nou, but we play in front of our fans.” Xavi said.

Meanwhile, Barcelona will play Levante in the La Liga before the second leg comes up at Camp Nou. Barcelona is in the second position on the La Liga table with 57 points, level with Atletico Madrid and Sevilla.

Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu