Four years on, Barcelona are back in the quarter-final of the Champions League. On the edge in footballing terms and in financial ones too, this was the game they just could not afford to lose but while all the talk had been of obligation, Xavi Hernandez had described it as an opportunity, a moment to be enjoyed, and so it was. Sure, there were nerves, but high on Montjuic this became a night to remember.

Ultimately, the start, two goals inside 15 minutes from Fermín López and João Cancelo, had been enough. And when it looked like it might not be, Napoli having come back to back to within a goal, Sergi Roberto and Ilkay Gündogan carved open a chance for Robert Lewandowski to roll in the third and ensure it was so.

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• Champions League updates, 8pm GMT kick-off ( first leg: 1-1 )
• Live scoreboard | And feel free to drop Will an email

After a draw in the first leg, we are set for a fascinating evening at Montjuic. It still seems a little strange to see Barcelona not playing at Camp Nou and the atmosphere has taken a hit but with scores level we can expect the former Olympic stadium to be rather lively tonight.

Barcelona’s form is a little up and down. They edged past Mallorca at the weekend after a draw in Bilbao but there is no doubting the quality available to Xavi who will be hoping everything clicks into place tonight.

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La Masia youngsters are wise beyond their years on the pitch. But with excitement comes fear of rushing something special

At the end of Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Real Mallorca this weekend, the best two players on the pitch put their arms around each other’s shoulders and walked towards the end of Montjuic where Antonio Rebollo’s arrow once lit the Olympic flame. Wearing 33 and 27, one is a defender, the other a forward, both just a couple of kids having a laugh. Waiting for them beneath the torch and way across the track were the fans who had spent the night singing their names, holding on to a new hope. Pau Cubarsí Paredes and Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana were born in Estanyol and Esplugues, Catalonia, and they are younger than Robert Lewandowski. Put together .

Cubarsí has just turned 17, Yamal is 16 and on a cold night they led Barcelona to victory and back to the light. At one end, Cubarsí had done battle with the Canadian Cyle Larin and the Kosovan Vedat Muriqi. The latter a man whose coach calls him “a big, ugly beast” and a 6ft 4in striker you’d “cross the street to avoid”. The teenager took on “two towers” in Xavi’s words, and had come out on top. At the other end, Yamal had crashed one shot against the bar that would have won it and then struck another that actually did. It came from nowhere, a goal so good they celebrated it twice: first when it curled in, then when it was played back on the screen, not so much a roar but an “ Oh!” which was even more eloquent. Did you see that?!

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The latest slate of knockout games featured a standout performance from Porto against Arsenal and the Diego Maradona Derby in Naples

The second week of ties in the staggered Champions League last-16 was just as cagey as the first , and left plenty to play for in each of the second legs. Here’s the prime performers from a week in which no team was able to gain more than a one-goal lead.

Goalkeeper: Only two goalkeepers kept clean sheets, though Porto’s Diogo Costa was not asked to make a save from Arsenal , and neither was Inter’s Yann Sommer asked to face a shot on target from an Atletico player, so the week’s most attacking game – PSV 1-1 Dortmund – threw up two contenders, both keepers facing plenty of shots. Alexander Meyer beats Walter Benitez to the crown, being only beaten by Luuk de Jong’s canny penalty.

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Court in Barcelona finds former Brazil player guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman at a nightclub in 2022

The former Brazil footballer Dani Alves was found guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman and sentenced to four years, six months in prison on Thursday.

The ruling by three-judge panel in a Barcelona court followed a three-day trial this month. Alves, 40, denied any wrongdoing during the trial. He can appeal against the decision.

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• 16-year-old scores twice against struggling visitors Granada
• Atlético’s Alvaro Morata leaves pitch in tears with knee injury

A double from Lamine Yamal salvaged a 3-3 draw for Barcelona at home to relegation-threatened Granada on Sunday in a rollercoaster La Liga match.

Yamal, who does not turn 17 until July, put the hosts ahead after 14 minutes with a tap-in after João Cancelo’s cross found him at the far post. Granada equalised two minutes before half-time thanks to Ricard Sánchez’s powerful volley into the top corner and the visitors grabbed the lead in the 60th minute with an easy finish by Facundo Pellistri, the Uruguayan winger on loan from Manchester United.

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Campaign launched by students aims to overcome the ‘micro-racism’ that labels shops and bars by the origins of their owners

Within its caramel-coloured walls and neat row of bar stools, there’s a sense that something has shifted at Barcelona’s Bar Montserrat. As Cai Qin Chen darts between serving coffees and taking orders, she’s heard her name called out more often in recent weeks than ever before.

“We noticed it right away,” said Chen, who with her husband, Xin Chen, has owned the small bar in the Poblenou neighbourhood for 16 years. “Perhaps people aren’t seeing us as foreigners any more, but rather people who are part of Spanish society.”

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• Venables started successful playing career at Chelsea
• As manager he got England to Euro 96 semi-final

The former England, Barcelona and Tottenham manager Terry Venables has died at the age of 80. Venables, who had a distinguished career as a player that brought two international caps, was in charge of England when they reached the semi-finals of Euro 96.

We are totally devastated by the loss of a wonderful husband and father who passed away peacefully yesterday after a long illness,” read a statement from Venables’ family. “We would ask that privacy be given at this incredibly sad time to allow us to mourn the loss of this lovely man who we were so lucky to have had in our lives.”

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• Florian Lejeune’s own goal gives Xavi’s side a 1-1 draw
• Barça third in La liga, three points off surprise leaders Girona

Barcelona rescued a point with a 1-1 draw away at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday thanks to a late second-half own-goal by defender Florian Lejeune.

The La Liga champions are third in the standings on 31 points, one behind second-placed Real Madrid and three back from surprise leaders Girona, both of whom have a game in hand.

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