Ferran Torres canceled out Ansgar Knauff’s second-half strike to earn a draw for FC Barcelona in the first leg of their Europa League fixture away from home.
The hosts soaked up the pressure early on with the plan to hit Barca on the break.
They were reminded of the danger they faced after just three minutes of play with Kevin Trapp tipping Ferran Torres’ shot over the bar.
The goalkeeper was called into action once again, this time denying Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
After finding their feet, the game started to swing the Bundesliga side’s way.
Sergio Busquets appeared to bring down Rafael Santos Borre in his penalty area but referee Srdjan Jovanovic overturned his initial penalty call after a VAR review as the first half ended without a goal.
Eintracht kept up the pressure after half-time and were rewarded three minutes into the second half when Ansgar Knauff found the back of the net with a stunning shot from outside the box after a poor clearance by Barcelona’s defense.
But Barcelona hit back on 66 minutes through Ferran Torres.
Substitutes Frenkie de Jong and Ousmane Dembele started a slick team move to set up Torres who finished off the attack to level the score.
Eintracht’s hopes of a late winner were dashed in the 78th when Tuta got a second yellow card for a challenge on Pedri, leaving his team to finish the game a man short.
Xavi’s side continued to force the issue in the second half but couldn’t find the go-ahead goal, setting up a winner-take-all second leg at the Camp Nou on April 14th.
