Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday and Newcastle United all feature in this David versus Goliath style list.
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi in action
‘Mes que un club’ – it’s no secret that FC Barcelona are one of the biggest, and best, clubs in world football, with the Catalan outfit winning La Liga 24 times, the Champions League on five occasions, and the Club World Cup three times in a trophy laden history.
As well as this, Los Cules can call on genuine world class talents like Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Neymar on a weekly basis – all of whom will be revered and immortalised in footballing history forever.
However, as the saying goes, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Through the years, Barcelona have famously battled several English clubs in Europe – but there are some you would never expect that have shared a pitch with them. Here are seven times you may surprised to find Barcelona lost to an English side in Europe.
Birmingham City 4-3 Barcelona – 1957
Long before winning two out of 25 this season and only surviving in the Championship on the final day, Birmingham were a fairly big deal once upon a time, and the two met in the Inter Cities Fairs Cup in a two-legged affair. The first leg was an absolute barnstormer, and one that will live on forever for the Blues. Eddie Brown opened the scoring for Birmingham before Justo Tejada equalised, and Evaristo made it 2-1 to the visitors. Bryan Orritt quickly equalised, only for Eulogio Martinez to make it 3-2 to Barcelona. However, Peter Murphy equalised before the break to end a crazy first half at 3-3, before scoring the winner in the second. The second leg resulted in a 1-0 Barcelona win, meaning the tie had to go to a play-off at a neutral venue, which Barcelona ended up winning 2-1, ending a truly amazing footballing encounter.
Sheffield Wednesday 3-2 Barcelona – 1962
Another Inter-Cities Fair Cup encounter, and again the underdog prevailed. On a snowy night, Barcelona took the field at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough and left empty handed as the Owls performed out of their skins to claim a tremendous victory. Ramon Villaverda opened the scoring for Barcelona, only for John Fantham to equalise for Wednesday, but Los Cules edged ahead again when Evaristo struck again on English soil. Alan Finney then levelled matters before half time, and Fantham struck again in the second half to secure a memorable win. The return leg however didn’t end the same way, and Wednesday lost 2-0 at the Nou Camp.
Elland Road
Leeds United 2-1 Barcelona – 1975
This was a huge result for Leeds, and one that ultimately saw them progress to the 1975 European Cup final. After overcoming Anderlecht in the quarter-finals, Leeds faced Barcelona in the semi-finals, and did what they had to in order to progress. Billy Bremner opened the scoring at Elland Road, but Juan Manuel Asensi equalised midway through the second half. Not to be deterred, Allan Clarke popped up with 12 to go to claim a vital win, while Leeds left the Nou Camp with a 1-1 draw and a place in the final. The Championship outfit, like every other team on this list, are a world away from those heady days now.
Ipswich Town 3-0 Barcelona – 1977
Sir Bobby Robson brought so many good times to Portman Road when he was in charge there, but there are few individual results which top this one. Despite having Johan Cryuff on the pitch, Barcelona got battered by Ipswich, who took control in their UEFA Cup clash. Eric Gates opened the scoring, before Trevor Whymark and Brian Talbot scored twice in the second half to secure a huge advantage going into the second leg. Sadly for Ipswich, Barcelona were completing improbably comebacks long before this season’s Champions League tie with Paris Saint-Germain, and won 3-0 at the Nou Camp, before winning 3-1 on penalties.
The City Ground general view before clash with Hull
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Barcelona – 1980
Given Forest’s illustrious history, it’s not surprising they faced some of Europe’s biggest names and came out on top, but given how far the Reds have fallen since their halcyon days, this had to be included. Scheduling conflicts for both sides meant that the 1979 European Super Cup final had to be held in 1980, but that didn’t deter Brian Clough’s Miracle Men from lifting yet another trophy. A single Charlie George goal was enough for the reigning European champions to defeat the Catalans at The City Ground, but it was the second leg where things got interesting. Roberto Dinimite converted a penalty to put the UEFA Cup holders in the lead and level on aggregate, only for Kenny Burns to equalise on the night just before half time. It remained 1-1, so 2-1 on aggregate, and Forest are still the only English side to this day to be undefeated against Barcelona.
Aston Villa 3-0 Barcelona – 1983
Another Super Cup final for Barca, and another defeat to reigning European champions from the Midlands – though this time, in the shape of Aston Villa. Barcelona arrived at Villa Park on the back of a slender 1-0 lead from the first leg at the Nou Camp, however that was wiped out in emphatic style. The Catalans had almost done enough, with the scores level until the 80th minute, at which point Gary Shaw struck for Villa. That took the tie to extra time, and there Villa dug deep and came out on top. Gordon Cowens scored from the penalty spot to give the Villans the lead for the first time in the tie, before captain Ken McNaught put the game beyond doubt and lifted the trophy soon after.
Newcastle United 3-2 Barcelona – 1997
It’s almost 20 years since this remarkable tie took place, and in another 20 years, it’ll still be discussed as one of Newcastle’s finest European nights. Faustino Asprilla was the hero of the night as he fired in a hattrick in this Champions League group stage match – the first being a penalty – and the Magpies were dreaming after 50 minutes as they had a 3-0 lead. Eventually, a bewildered Barcelona showed their true class as they almost staged a comeback, with Luis Enrique and Luis Figo scoring late on to make the final minutes very nervous, but Newcastle held firm and celebrated a colossal victory.
Asprilla Barcelona
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