10 Man West Ham held at home while Barca draw with Frankfurt

(Football news) Barcelona rescued a 1-1 draw away to Eintracht Frankfurt in their Europa League quarter final first leg as Frankfurt soaked up the pressure early on, their game plan was simple, hoping to hit Barca on the break, but susceptible after three minutes when Kevin Trapp brilliantly tipped Ferran Torres' shot over the bar. Trapp was called upon again to deny Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but after the early pressure the host settled into the game and it swung in the Bundesliga side's way. Sergio Busquets appeared to bring down Rafael Santos Borre in the penalty area before the break, but the referee overturned the initial penalty call after a VAR review as the first half ended scoreless.

Eintracht kept pressing and were finally rewarded three minutes into the second half when Ansgar Knauff found the back of the net with a stunning half volley from outside the box after a poor header by the Barca defence. Barcelona asserted their dominance after going 1-0 down and hit back in the 66th minute when substitutes Frenkie de Jong and Ousmane Dembele combined well before setting up Torres for the finish to level the score. Eintracht's hopes of finding a late winner were dashed in the 78th minute when Tuta got a second yellow card for a rough challenge on Pedri and subsequently left his team to a man short. Xavi's side continued to force the issue in the second half but couldn't find that decisive goal as the second leg on 14th April becomes a crucial encounter as winner-takes-all second leg at the Camp Nou.

"The combination between Ousmane, Frenkie and Ferran … it's a golazo, pure talent from the player," Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez told reporters afterward.

"They're a tough side, very physical and they came out like demons on the counter-attack," Xavi said. "It made it difficult for us. The pitch was not in perfect condition, either, and didn't help how we wanted to play.We created less than usual, but satisfied with the result and now we have the return leg at home. Camp Nou will have to be a pressure cooker for us like their fans were here tonight."

West Ham's dreams of reaching a first European semi-final since 1976 remained alive when they drew 1-1 against a resurgent Lyon. Aaron Cresswell's red card at the brink of first-half stoppage time, for bringing down Moussa Dembele when he was the last man changed the complexion of a tie as David Moyes' men clearly started as favourites but looked in danger of getting knocked out. Despite the red card, West Ham came out all guns blazing in the second half as Jarrod Bowen put the Hammers in front seven minutes after the restart when he seized on a Jerome Boateng mistake in his own box as he smartly capitalised on the mistake to take an unlikely 1-0 lead

It was a rare glimpse of a goal for the home side, who were forced to sit back and absorb the pressure as Lyon grew in confidence. Their defence was eventually breached by Tanguy Ndombele, who tapped home from close range after the ball had been deflected into his path. Alphonse Areola was arguably the man of the match as he denied Emerson with a decent save in the dying minutes to protect the 1-1 scoreline. Craig Dawson was particularly impressive in the match, leading his defence and keeping their semifinals hope aline. If there is any consolation then it is that the Premier League side are still in with a chance, unlike the last occasion West Ham reached a European quarter-final, where they were comprehensively beaten 4-1 in the first leg at home by Dinamo Tbilisi in 1981.

Also read: Man United, Chelsea and Arsenal look to secure three points in the PL

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