BARCELONA have been forced to eat their words after their shock defeat against Roma.
When the draw was made, the Catalans were expected to comfortably progress to the semi-finals against a side which is facing a huge battle to even qualify for next season’s Champions League.
And their hold on the tie looked even stronger as they took a 4-1 lead to the Stadio Olimpico.
However, they were left stunned as the Serie A side produced a superb display to win 3-0 and make it to their first semi-finals of the Champions League era.
With Roma, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Sevilla and Juventus as possible opponents, Barcelona players had allegedly been hoping they would be draw the Giallorossi in the last-eight.
As Catalan radio station RAC-1 broadcast the draw live, the hosts were audibly praying for the opportunity to face Eusebio Di Francesco’s men.
Barcelona were the first team out of the hat, and everybody cheered when Roma followed and they got their wish.
The following day, Catalan-based newspaper Sport ran with the headline “Un Bombon”, which means “A Sweet”.
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And adds that “Fortune has smiled on Barcelona with the draw and they are already dreaming about the Treble”.
The front page described Roma as “the desired opponent” and insisted the season was shaping up to become “historic”.
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But their predictions of easy success have left them with egg on their face as Barcelona faced a third consecutive quarter-final elimination.
Roma were arguably the better side a the Nou Camp — despite leaving with a 4-1 defeat.
In the return, they showed incredible belief and took an early lead through Edin Dzeko.
And vindication for Daniele De Rossi and Kostas Manolas — who had scored own goals in their first encounter — completed a historic night for the Giallorossi.
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