With the victory against Paris Saint-Germain, FC Barcelona have assured themselves of a place in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the seventh time in the last eight years. In that time the Catalans have made it to the final twice, lifting the trophy on both occasions.
The success of recent years and their particular brand of attractive football have meant that Barça have been a continual presence in at this stage of the competition. The defeat in the last 16 against Liverpool in 2007 was a turning point and the following season the blaugranes reached the semi-finals against Manchester United. Since then, only last season when they went out in the quarter-finals to Atlético Madrid, have they failed to make the last four of the competition.
Eight from ten
In the last ten years FC Barcelona have improved markedly improved their record in the final stages of the Champions League. To the seven semi-finals since 2008 we can add once more, in 2006 against AC Milan ahead of Barça’s victory in Paris against Arsenal in the final. So, Barça are the team who have reached the last four on most occasions in the last decade.
