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FC Barcelona have been a dominant force in Europe. The Catalan club flourished significantly under Pep Guardiola. Those were probably the best years in the history of the club. The club have won numerous trophies recently as well. In the 2009-10 season, they won all the 6 competitions they played in, completing the 'sextuple'.
It all started with the foundation laid by the Dutch legend, Johan Cruyff and then followed by great minds of Frank Rijkaard, Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique. Barcelona have had some great managers who all have led the club to glory on several occasions.
Here, we take a look at 5 matches where the Catalan giants were just too good for the opponents:
#5 Barcelona 4-1 Arsenal (2010)
The number 4 seems so synonymous with Arsenal now but in 2010, Barcelona scored 4 against the English club. The first leg of the quarter-final was a 2-2 draw at home for Arsenal. In the return leg at Camp Nou, Arsenal took the lead in the 18th minute by a brilliant counter-attack finished by Bendtner. The away goal was crucial for Arsenal if they wanted to go through but they had one problem; Lionel Messi.
It took only 2 minutes for the Argentine to score a screamer in the top right corner and make it 1-1. Messi struck one more in the 37th minute to give Barca the lead. The Catalans were in control of the game, completing quick passes and enjoying possession of the ball.
It wasn't long before Arsenal were caught on the counter and Messi scored a sublime chip to complete his fabulous first-half hat-trick. The tie was practically won by Barcelona but Messi wanted more. In the 88th minute, his shot from a tight angle was saved but the rebound landed at his feet and this time he slotted the ball home between the legs of the goalkeeper.
#4 Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona (2015)
In 2015, Messi was sidelined due to injury and was expected to return for the El Clasico in Madrid. The match between the 2 giants is always high-profile and Madrid were in high spirits expecting to win the match as Barca's talisman Messi was not starting the game. Sergi Roberto was chosen to play on the right wing, and this was expected to be the weak spot but the Catalans had planned something else.
Roberto slid past an amazing through ball for Suarez, who finished it beautifully with the outside of his right boot to give Barca the lead in the opening quarter of an hour. Barcelona struck again in the 40th minute by Neymar and this time Iniesta was the creator.
Barcelona were on top of the world with a 2-goal cushion at halftime. Messi was eager to return but his teammates were on fire, in the 53rd minute Neymar returned the favour to Iniesta by a sublime backheel pass and the latter powered it into the right top corner from the edge of the box.
There were no positive signs for Madrid and Messi was brought onto the pitch replacing Rakitic. Around the 75th minute, Barcelona showed excellent passing and Jordi Alba provided the assist to Suarez to make it 4 for the night.
It was an excellent display of pure football from Barcelona.
#3 Barcelona 4-0 AC Milan (2013)
Barcelona lost 2-0 to Milan in the first leg, which meant they needed a magical comeback at home to go through to the Quarters. They started the game with their strongest playing 11. The match began with great pace and Barca were attacking more than usual.
It took just 5 minutes for Lionel Messi to open the scoring with a majestic strike from the edge of the opposition box, straight into the top corner. Messi scored again in the 40th minute, this time with a powerful grounded strike drilled into the goal from outside the opposition box.
The Catalans were in a stable situation at half-time. In the 55th minute, it was David Villa's turn to add his name to the scoresheet with a superb curling shot into the far post, assisted by Xavi.
In the injury time, Alexis Sanchez provided a through ball and Jordi Alba, out of nowhere popped up in the opposition area to score one more and complete the comeback and help Barcelona secure their 6th consecutive Quarter-final appearance in the Champions League.
#2 Barcelona 6-1 PSG (2017)
Barcelona suffered a humiliating 4-0 loss in the first leg by PSG. Barcelona needed at least 4 goals to force the match to extra-time. The match started with the Blaugrana pressing high, and they played with a 3-man defence.
Luis Suarez opened the scoring with a header in the 3rd minute. Iniesta forced one into the goal in the 40th minute. Both of these goals were due to defensive errors in the PSG backline but Barcelona were getting their job done step by step.
Neymar won a penalty which was converted by Messi in the 50th minute and that meant Barca needed just one more to force the match to extra-time but Cavani's strike in the 62nd minute made it a near-impossible task. It was Neymar who took control of the game from here.
He was busy creating chances and helping team-mates to get into scoring positions. In the 88th minute, Neymar scored a sublime free-kick into the top left corner, which made the fans to believe that a comeback was still possible.
In the 90th minute, Suarez won a penalty. Some would say that it was dive by the Uruguayan but it hardly matters. The spot kick was converted by Neymar comfortably. 5 minutes were added as injury time.
In the last minute fracas, Neymar floated in a cross which was somehow met by Sergi Roberto and the subsequent moments were pandemonium at the Camp Now. Magically, Barcelona completed the greatest comeback of all time and proving why they are more than a club.
#1 Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid (2010)
A match between the two such star-studded teams is always a joy to watch but it wasn't much of joy for Madrid fans seeing their team getting thrashed by bitter rivals.
In the 10th minute, Iniesta provided a defence-splitting pass to Xavi, who controlled the ball awkwardly but managed it to flick it into the goal over the keeper. It wasn't long when Pedro was in the right place at the right time to add his name on the scoresheet too. It was an easy tap-in for the attacker.
The match was getting intense and a frustrated Madrid side could hardly keep up as they lost their cool. The first half ended in the favour of Barcelona with a two-goal advantage. In the 54th minute, David Villa, arguably one of the best Spanish strikers of all time, finished calmly into the far post. This goal was set-up by Messi.
Again these two combined after 3 minutes. This time it was an even better ball by Messi between the 2 central defenders, ending with Villa slotting the ball home between the legs of Casillas. The job was done well by Barcelona but they wanted more.
Jeffren, the substitute grabbed one more in the 90th minute. It was more than what Barca fans would have wanted. The scoreline led to the famous celebration by Pique, who held his hand showing 5 fingers and enjoying the moment to the maximum.
