One of the most dominant team, FC Barcelona (Barca) faced Paris Saint Germain (PSG) in the round of 16. Though PSG is not a weak team, they surprised many by beating Barca 4-0 in the game in Paris. That's a big score, and in the history of the Champions League, no teams have overcome that deficit. (This means that Barca needs to win 4-0 to force overtime, or 5-0 or 6-1 to win)
Sure, Barca had the greatest player today, Lionel Messi, and many other great players like Neymar, Suarez, and Iniesta, so the idea of scoring more than 4 goals is definitely do-able. But of course, PSG is not a small team, and they could also score, especially since Barca will have go to all offensive, leaving gaps in defense.
I am myself a big fan of Barca, and I was not a "believer" of the "remontada" (Spanish for "comeback"). I was sure Barca will win the second game, but will not be able to overturn the playoffs.
I was on a trip (in Italy) when this game happened, and I was sitting at a restaurant, and from afar I was able to catch a glimpse of the game from a TV screen from another restaurant.
The game started, and in the first few minutes, Barca scores via Suarez. This is a perfect start, scoring early on the game to gain momentum. More scoring opportunities came by, but for the next 30 minutes, no more goals were scored. Doubts started to appear on Barca fans, until the last 5 minutes for the first half, Iniesta manages to fabricated a goal (thanks to sloppy defending) to make it 2-0. This is a great way to end the first half. Barca is half way there!
At that point, I started to believe "remontada" was possible.
Second half started, and in the first 10-15 minutes, Neymar falls in the area, and it is penalty kick! And of course Messi scores it with conviction for a 3-0. Now that is totally possible! You could see the fear in the eyes of the PSG players.
But 5-7 minutes after, on a long pass and a defensive gap lets PSG scores the 3-1. This felt like pouring a bucket of cold water to all Barca fans. We were in silence and shock. Now Barca had ~25 minutes remaining to score 3 more goals to make the comeback, which is very difficult. As the time elapsed, Barca players were out of sync and could not generate scoring changes, and many doubts started to cloud the fans.
PSG actually had 2 more opportunities to score, but they missed their changes to keep the hopes alive.
Now we are at the last 3 minutes of the game (+ whatever the referee adds on stoppage time), and I already left the restaurant and have given up on the comeback. But it is to my surprise that I probably missed one of the greatest football moment in history. This is what happened:
- 87th minute, Neymar scores a beautiful free kick for a 4-1. This awakens hope, but there are only 3 minutes remaining (+ stoppage time) for 2 more goals.
- 92nd minute, Messi gives a nice pass to Suarez, and he manages to invent a penalty kick, and now this has become intense. Neymar takes it, and makes it 5-1. Now this is getting serious.
- 94th minute, Barca has long free kick, Neymar pass was blocked, but he recovers it and makes a long pass that is connected by Sergi Roberto to put the 6-1. Unbelievable. The whole city goes crazy, the comeback is happening. Barca players celebrate like they have just won a trophy, and PSG players cannot believe what had just happened.
I was in complete shock, but extremely happy.
As an analytical person, I tend to think a lot and look at different possibilities. When I looked back on how I analyze the situation of Barca before the second game, of course the possibilities for them to win the playoffs were very slim. And I was totally skeptical that this would happen.
But the result was a good lesson for me, to have "more faith" on unusual and unexpected outcomes. This was a game of humans, and these humans managed to made this "miracle" of a comeback to occur.
Similarly, when it comes to spiritual matters, being too analytical can affect my faith by constraining in a box on what God can do in people's lives. For example, many years ago, my grandma had a stroke. She was not a Christian. As a matter of fact she would scold me for going to church, because she had a bad experience with a religious organization before, and always blamed them for asking for money and being fake. She was well advanced in years, and she also had a tough life, so physically she was not in good condition.
Many of us were did not think she would recover. Even when I was praying, I felt many doubts.
But against all expectations, she woke up, and slowly recover certain physical responses with her eye sight and head movement. That was very good news! What happened was a miracle, but the greatest part of the miracle is what I gonna explain next. The pastor's wife from my home church started to visit her at the hospital everyday. And God led her with the Holy Spirit to proclaim the gospel to my grandma, with lots of patience, explaining all the details of the salvation plan of Jesus. And to my surprise, my grandma accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. I was shocked. I never though that would be possible (theologically, I know God can change people's hearts, but in my limited analytical mind, I was skeptical. I am not saying being analytical is bad, it is actually very important for bible study! But it's about not letting that mindset constrain my belief on how God can work).
It was very joyful news to see my grandma as part of God's family, a precious miracle and a valuable lesson for my faith. By grace, I was able to visit my grandma a few months after to see her one last time.
