- On this day in 2016, FC Barcelona legend Luis Suarez ended Arsenal’s faint hopes of launching a comeback in a Champions League last 16 second leg tie at Camp Nou.
- His thunderous volley, after Mohamed Elneny had equalised on the evening, made it 4-1 on aggregate with 25 minutes to spare.
- All three members of the iconic ‘MSN’ trio completed by Lionel Messi and Neymar netted that evening for the defending champions, in a 3-1 (5-1) triumph.
On this day in 2016, as UEFA’s official Champions League Spanish X account reminds us, FC Barcelona legend Luis Suarez blasted a thunderous scissor kick volley past Arsenal to end the Gunners’ hopes in the Champions League.
We look back at the strike scored at the height of the ‘MSN’ heyday, during an era where it looked like Luis Enrique’s Blaugrana side were set up to rule the continent for the foreseeable future.
A Rainy Night at Camp Nou: Setting the stage for FC Barcelona’s ‘MSN’ storm
Some 76,000 Culers and away fans made it through torrential spring rain to witness the last 16 second leg, after a Lionel Messi brace at the Emirates gave FC Barcelona a 2-0 advantage over the Premier League outfit in the first instalment of the tie.
When Neymar slotted home a Suarez pass with barely a quarter of an hour down on the clock, the defending champions crowned in Berlin at Juventus’ expense 10 months earlier looked to have an easy night at the office ahead of them.
Just after half time, though, nerves crept in once Mohamed Elneny equalised to make it 1-1 on the evening and ignited hope in a stadium known for its remontadas.
A scissor kick for the ages: FC Barcelona legend Suarez defies physics to crush Arsenal’s dreams
The tension lasted just 14 minutes, however. In the 65th, Daniel Alves floated a cross over from the right wing which seemed to be a little too high.
Realising that the ball was falling behind him, Suarez pivoted and launched both feet into the Barcelona night air to catch it flush with the outside of his right.
The strike was ‘El Pistolero’ at his technical and instinctive best, in an eventual 3-1 rout where all three of the ‘MSN’ completed by Lionel Messi and Neymar got on the scoresheet.
Barça would unfortunately get knocked out by that year’s beaten finalists Atletico Madrid in the next round, the quarterfinals, and the trio would be broken up by Neymar’s record-breaking move to Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the following season.
Still, we’ll always have Arsenal on a wet, March 2016 evening as well as many others to cherish.
