Yamal scores in the final seconds, Barcelona narrowly avoids defeat

(Football result) Barcelona avoided a loss right at St. James' Park as Lamine Yamal netted a penalty during added time, securing a 1-1 draw for the Catalan side against Newcastle in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

Early morning on March 11 (Vietnam time), Barcelona faced a challenging away match at Newcastle's St. James' Park, within the framework of the first leg of the 2025/26 Champions League quarter-finals.

Right after the kick-off whistle, Newcastle demonstrated strong determination by pushing their formation high and playing with great intensity amid the fervent support of their home fans. In the first 20 minutes, the English representative continuously applied pressure, forcing Barcelona's defense to operate at full capacity. Goalkeeper Joan Garcia made several solid saves, helping the visitors withstand the opponent's attacking situations.

Despite controlling the match well defensively, Barcelona appeared quite stagnant in their attacking deployment. The Catalan team almost failed to establish their usual rhythm of play and rarely approached Aaron Ramsdale's goal. Their two most notable opportunities in the first half came only from Fermín López's shot being saved by Ramsdale and a situation where Dan Burn nearly scored an own goal after a left-wing advance.

Moving into the second half, the match situation did not change much as Newcastle continued to be the team creating more dangerous attacks. In the 60th minute, Barcelona had the clearest chance of the match when Raphinha delivered a favorable pass to Robert Lewandowski inside the box, but the Polish striker's finish lacked accuracy.

The introduction of Anthony Gordon from the bench significantly increased Newcastle's pressure. One of his speedy dribbles led to Harvey Barnes' shot hitting the post, before Joelinton followed up into the net. However, the goal was not recognized due to an offside violation.

In the 86th minute, Newcastle finally scored the opening goal. In a situation where Ronald Araujo had not yet returned to his position after a previous advance, Jacob Murphy delivered a precise cross for Harvey Barnes to rush in and finish close-range, putting the home team ahead 1-0.

Just when Barcelona seemed destined for defeat, drama unfolded in the final moments of stoppage time. Dani Olmo was fouled by Malick Thiaw inside the penalty area, and the referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot. From the 11-meter mark, Lamine Yamal calmly defeated Ramsdale, setting the final score at 1-1 for the visitors.

This result allows Barcelona to leave St. James' Park with a certain psychological advantage before the return leg at Camp Nou, even though their attacking performance still has much to improve.