Galatasaray forward Noa Lang sustained a freak hand injury when he caught his thumb on an advertising hoarding in his team’s 4-0 loss to Liverpool in the Champions League.
Lang was taken to a hospital due to the deep wound, Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk said, and it may require surgery.
The Netherlands international writhed in pain near Liverpool’s goal with blood streaming from the injury and was comforted by Liverpool players before being carried away on a stretcher.
“He is going to the hospital [because of an] important issue he has with his finger,” Buruk said.
Lang was challenging Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones for the ball in the 75th minute when he stumbled backward into the hoarding at Anfield. He appeared to trap his thumb between two hoardings and immediately clutched his hand in pain.
Galatasaray’s medical team came to treat him as play was stopped, with Lang in visible discomfort.
Liverpool advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-1 aggregate win.
Barcelona score seven to knock Newcastle out of Champions League
Barcelona stormed into the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with a thumping 7-2 victory over Newcastle United at Camp Nou, sealing an emphatic 8-3 aggregate triumph in a compelling round-of-16 tie.
Barcelona’s Marc Bernal celebrates scoring their second goal against Newcastle United. (Reuters: Albert Gea)
Raphinha opened the scoring in the sixth minute after Fermin Lopez led a swift counterattack, but Anthony Elanga levelled nine minutes later from Lewis Hall’s cross. Marc Bernal restored Barca’s lead from a Raphinha free kick before Elanga struck again in the 28th minute after Lamine Yamal failed to clear.
Yamal made amends by converting a spot kick deep into first-half added time after VAR spotted Kieran Trippier’s foul on Raphinha inside the box, and Barca came storming back from the break to score four goals in the second half.
Fermin added a fourth in the 52nd minute, and Robert Lewandowski scored twice in quick succession, first with a header from a corner and then from Yamal’s through ball.
The tie was level for much of the first half, before Barcelona stormed home to win comfortably. (Reuters: Nacho Doce)
Raphinha sealed the rout in the 73rd minute after a Jacob Ramsey mistake, with the Catalan side now set to meet either Atletico Madrid or Tottenham Hotspur in the next round.
“We are delighted, it was a great performance,” Raphinha told Movistar Plus.
“Newcastle are a very physical side; if they’re on form, they make life difficult for you. We were calm throughout the match and knew we had to control the game. We lost possession a lot in the first half, but the third and fourth goals came quickly and helped us settle down.”
It was a night that showcased both the irresistible and the unreliable sides of Hansi Flick’s team — devastating in attack, yet persistently vulnerable at the back.
Barcelona have now scored 30 goals in this season’s competition, an average of three per game, but they are still without a clean sheet, having conceded 17 in 10 matches.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid also booked spots in the quarterfinal stage on Thursday morning, AEDT.
Bayern defeated Italian side Atalanta 4-1 in Munich to win the tie on aggregate 10-2.
Atlético Madrid conceded late to lose to Tottenham Hotspur in London 3-2, but the Spanish side’s thumping win the previous week gave them a 7-5 aggregate win
UEFA Champions League quarterfinal tiesReal Madrid (Spain) vs Bayern Munich (Germany)Sporting (Portugal) vs Arsenal (England)Barcelona (Spain) vs Atlético Madrid (Spain)Liverpool (England) vs Paris Saint-Germain (France)
Reuters/ABC