Highlights
- Barcelona came from behind to beat PSG 3-2.
- PSG had initially come from behind themselves with two quick goals early in the second half.
- Barcelona came back strong, with Raphinha and Christensen scoring to secure a one-goal advantage.
Barcelona escaped France with a one-goal advantage as they beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final fixture. Raphinha gave the visitors the lead in the first half, before a quickfire double at the start of the second half from Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha threatened a PSG comeback, but a second strike from Raphinha and a winner from Andreas Christensen handed Xavi’s side the win.
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It was a dramatic result, but one that gives Barcelona a nice advantage as they welcome PSG to Spain next week, with a spot in the Champions League semi-finals up for grabs.
Player Ratings
|
Player Ratings |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
PSG players |
Rating |
Barcelona players |
Rating |
|
Gianluigi Donnarumma |
6.2 |
Marc-Andre ter Stegen |
6.6 |
|
Marquinhos |
6.5 |
Jules Kounde |
6.9 |
|
Lucas Hernandez |
6.3 |
Ronald Araujo |
6.8 |
|
Lucas Beraldo |
5.9 |
Pau Cubarsi |
6.4 |
|
Nuno Mendes |
7.1 |
Joao Cancelo |
6.6 |
|
Fabian Ruiz |
6.8 |
6.5 |
|
|
Vitinha |
8.1 |
Sergi Roberto |
6.6 |
|
Kang-in Lee |
7.1 |
Ilkay Gundogan |
7.3 |
|
Kylian Mbappe |
6.2 |
Raphinha |
9.1 |
|
Marco Asensio |
6.9 |
Robert Lewandowski |
7.1 |
|
Ousmane Dembele |
7.7 |
Lamine Yamal |
7.3 |
|
Substitutions |
|||
|
Bradley Barcola |
7.1 |
Pedri |
7.5 |
|
Warren Zaire-Emery |
6.5 |
Joao Felix |
6.7 |
|
Goncalo Ramos |
6.6 |
Andreas Christensen |
7.7 |
|
Ferran Torres |
6.6 |
||
|
Fermin Lopez |
6.6 |
||
Barcelona Controlled the Game Early
Raphinha scored the only goal of the first half
Despite the game taking place on PSG’s home turf, it was Barcelona who started the stronger of the two teams, and they controlled the majority of the first 45 minutes. The Spaniards conjured up several really strong chances early on, and if it wasn’t for a solid first half from Gianluigi Donnarumma they could have headed into the break with a comfortable lead.
They had to settle for just the one-goal advantage, though, as Lamine Yamal’s cross was pushed away by the Italian goalkeeper into the path of Raphinha, and the former Leeds United man had no trouble finding the back of the net.
The Catalan giants deserved the lead heading into the interval and would have felt confident with the second half approaching, but that soon changed very quickly.
PSG Turned the Game on its Head After the Restart
They scored two and took the lead after just five minutes
Whatever Luis Enrique said to his team at halftime worked wonders as PSG came out in the second half and immediately turned the tie on its head in the most impressive of fashion. Just two minutes after the restart, Dembele levelled things up with a thunderous strike that rifled into the top of the Barcelona goal.
Moments later, they were at it again and Vitinha scored to give PSG the lead. After a ball was played through the Spanish side’s defence, the midfielder poked the ball home and really had Barcelona rocked. It was a lightning-fast turnaround for the home side and had turned the game around in the blink of an eye.
Often questioned for their mentality and their tendency to crumble when the going got tough in the past under Xavi, Barcelona refused to go roll over for PSG, despite the blistering start to the second half and they soon regained their composure and fought their way back into the contest.
Barcelona Turned Things Around Again
Goals from Raphinha and Andres Christensen saw the lead flip
Just over 10 minutes after Vitinha had given PSG the lead, Barcelona tied things up once again after Raphinha scored his second goal of the game. Just a minute after Pedri was introduced into the contest off of the visitors’ bench, the young superstar made an immediate impact. He played an incredible ball over the top of the home side’s defence, and Raphinha was there to pounce onto it, connecting on the volley as he poked the ball past Donnarumma.
Despite the equaliser, PSG had several glorious chances to regain their lead and head into the reverse fixture with the advantage. First, Bradley Barcola, who was brought into the game at halftime, had a shot tipped onto the crossbar. Later, Dembele almost had a second goal against his former club, but he also hit the woodwork when he tried to curl the ball past Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but the shot clashed against the outside of the right-hand post. Those misses came back to haunt the French side, with Barcelona once again getting their noses in front minutes after the Dembele miss.
While it looked like they were on the verge of collapsing early in the second half, Barcelona came roaring back, and they once again took the lead in the 77th minute after Christensen got onto the end of a corner and headed the ball past Donnarumma. It was another incredible twist in what was a scintillating Champions League battle.
Barcelona ultimately held on, taking a one-goal advantage into the reverse fixture next week at Camp Nou. Check out the full match highlights below.
