On an incredible night of Europa League football, Frankfurt pulled off the shock of the night.
The German side travelled to the Camp Nou level on aggregate with the once mighty Barcelona and, on the hallowed Catalan turf, took a famous 3-2 win to knock La Blaugrana out of Europe.
Almost more spectacular than the scenes on the pitch was the complete takeover of the Camp Nou by Frankfurt's fans. It was estimated that almost 30,000 Frankfurt fans were inside the stadium on Thursday night, and the deafening noise they created helped to spur their side on to the last four.
Barcelona v Frankfurt: German side stun Barca on their own turf
Early on Thursday, footage emerged of streets in Barcelona completely gridlocked by Frankfurt fans. Thousands upon thousands of them had made the journey to Catalonia.
Inside the stadium, it became apparent that most of those travelling fans had gotten their hands on tickets. Of the 79,000 fans inside the Camp Nou on Thursday, and incredible 30,000 were Frankfurt fans.
The Camp Nou has been taken over by Eintracht Frankfurt fans. 30,000 of them! 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/yKYlBCBb5C
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) April 14, 2022
The Frankfurt fans would have plenty to celebrate.
The Eagles would roar into a 3-0 lead and, though injury time goals for Barcelona had them on the ropes, Frankfurt held on for a 3-2 win that saw them go through. One of the goals was scored by Colombian Rafael Borré, who paid tribute to his countryman, the late Freddy Rincon.
Amazing goal from Rafael Borre for Eintracht Frankfurt tonight followed up by a tribute to his compatriot, the great Freddie Rincon, who wore #19 for Colombia.pic.twitter.com/YlTlhKwrnR
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) April 14, 2022
Major figures within the club at Barcelona were less than impressed that such a large number of Frankfurt fans had managed to make their way into the stadium.
Speaking to Fichajes after the game, manager Xavi called it a "miscalculation" and said: "It is evidence that the atmosphere has not helped us. This seemed like a final, with the field divided."
Club president Joan Laporta was similarly unimpressed. He spoke to the club's TV station at full-time and said that the situation could not be repeated:
It is a shame we have experienced this here today. It cannot happen again.
It will not happen again ever because it is an outrage. We cannot avoid certain situations but from now on we will have to be stricter and look at what has been allowed to avoid it in the future. We have experienced an undesirable situation. As a culer I feel ashamed and I am really sorry about what I have seen.
Despite the discontent from Barcelona, the scenes in the Camp Nou on Thursday were magical.
At full-time, the Frankfurt team made their way over to the corner of the ground where the majority of their fans had gathered, and celebrated with the vocal travelling support.
We've never seen something like this! ❤️#FCBSGE #SGEuropa #UEL pic.twitter.com/VEAfpH43FY
— Europa League Winners 2022 (@eintracht_eng) April 14, 2022
Thursday night proved that the Europa League can offer its own magic to the European football scene.
The semi-final lineup was completed by West Ham - who themselves had an emotional night on Thursday - Rangers, and RB Leipzig.
Frankfurt will face West Ham in the last four, with both sides looking for their second major European honours.
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