Barcelona Reach Champions League Knockout Stage For First Time Since Messi Era

João Cancelo first and João Félix second turn things around after the visitors take the lead and earn a ticket into the last sixteen of the Champions League

Barcelona secured their spot in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time since the departure of Lionel Messi, thanks to a 2-1 victory over Porto on Tuesday.

The Portuguese duo of João Félix and João Cancelo each scored a goal to help Barcelona overcome their opponents.

With this win, Barcelona moved onto 12 points, three ahead of both Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk, who beat Antwerp 1-0 earlier in the day. The visitors took the lead through Pepê in the 30th minute, but Barcelona fought back with Cancelo scoring just two minutes later, followed by Félix in the 57th minute.

Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen was absent due to a back issue, with Iñaki Peña starting in his place. Diego Kochen, a 17-year-old American-born goalkeeper and product of Barcelona’s youth academy, was named as a reserve.

Sergi Roberto also returned to the squad after missing almost eight weeks. Barcelona had struggled in recent games, including a 1-0 loss to Shakhtar in their previous Champions League match and a 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano in their last La Liga fixture.