PSG come back from two goals down to eliminate Barcelona in the Champions League for the third time, the most by any team in the history of the competition.
It was a night of unravelling for Barcelona at their temporary home of Montjuïc as Paris Saint-Germain beat them 4-1 (6-4 on aggregate) despite Raphinha’s early goal giving the home side a two-goal cushion in the tie.
Ronald Araújo became the first Barcelona player to be sent off at home in the Champions League knockout stages when he pulled Bradley Barcola back as he made a beeline towards goal having sprung Barcelona’s backline. A goal didn’t immediately follow, but it was the first in a series of defining events that shifted the tie.
If it was a night with one high and then a slow and steady collapse for Barcelona, it was even more pronounced for teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, who was joining Pau Cubarsí (17), and Warren Zaïre-Emery (18) as the first three different players aged 18 or younger to start a Champions League quarter-final, semi-final or final.
The 16-year-old became the youngest player with a goal or an assist in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League after Raphinha had turned his effort home early on. He became the sacrificial lamb shortly after when Araújo’s red forced Xavi into swapping the youngster for Iñigo Martínez.
From the early going, it was clear that Barcelona were willing to sit and soak up PSG pressure – they had just 37.1% possession prior to the red card. But after, out of sheer necessity, they were going to have to batten down the hatches, cross their fingers and hope their season included an episode entitled the miracle of Montjuïc.
It wasn’t to be. Ousmane Dembélé roofed a Barcola cross before half-time as Barcelona tried and failed to hold on until the break. With that goal, the Frenchman became the first former Barcelona player to score away from home against them in the Champions League since Zlatan Ibrahimovic in December 2014.
PSG’s 20 touches inside Barcelona box to Barcelona’s four inside PSG’s told the tale of the first half. The home side had just two shots in that first half, the fewest on record for Barcelona in the first half of home game in the Champions League knockout stages.
And it was about to get much worse for Xavi’s side.
Vitinha slammed home the goal to put PSG ahead on the night after Luis Enrique’s side had started to turn the screw at the start of the second half. It was all square across the two legs though and Barcelona still had something to hold on for.
Dembélé continued to be a thorn in Barcelona’s side. He won a penalty when João Cancelo needlessly scythed him down in the penalty area with an hour played. Kylian Mbappé dutifully dispatched the spot kick. He blew out the dying embers of Barcelona’s attempted comeback when he slammed home from close range on 89 minutes. It was 4-1 on the night and 6-4 on aggregate across two legs.
A veritable goalfest that is in keeping with the other quarter-finals high scoring efforts. In fact, the 29 goals scored in these quarter-finals is one off a record at this stage of the competition with two games left to play on Wednesday night.
Barcelona would finish with just 32.7% of the ball on the night, their lowest possession tally in the Champions League. But even if Barcelona were the authors of their own decline in some ways, PSG forced the issue. With his brace, Mbappé collected his 50th goal contribution in all competitions this season (41 goals, 9 assists), the best figure in Europe’s top five leagues. His 41 goals in competitive matches are also the highest among all players in in Europe’s top five leagues.
PSG march on to the semi-final for just the second time after losing the first leg in the knockout stage of the Champions League. The first time they did the same was in 2019-20 when they beat Borussia Dortmund, the team they now meet in the last four of this year’s competition.
Barcelona vs PSG Stats: Post-Match Facts
- Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique is the first ex-Barcelona manager to eliminate the Spanish side from a UEFA Champions League knockout stage tie and only the third Spaniard to do so after Rafael Benítez with Liverpool in 2006-07 (round of 16) and Vicente del Bosque with Real Madrid in 2001-02 (semi-finals).
- The only two instances of Barcelona conceding 4 or more goals in a home Champions League/European Cup knockout game have come at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, who also beat the Spaniards 4-1 at Camp Nou in February 2021 in the last 16.
- In their 16th Champions League campaign, Paris Saint-Germain have reached the semi-finals of the competition for only the fourth time, also doing so in 1994-95, 2019-20 and 2020-21.
- Courtesy of his assist for Raphinha’s opener, Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal (16 years and 278 days) became the youngest player to register a goal involvement in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
- Ronald Araujo’s red card in the 29th minute was Barcelona’s earliest ever sending off in the Champions League and the Catalan giants’ first in the knockout stages of the competition since Arturo Vidal received his marching orders against Napoli in the Last 16 in February 2020.
- Paris Saint-Germain attacker Ousmane Dembélé scored in consecutive Champions League games for the first time since October 2020 (with Barcelona), with the Frenchman the first player to score away against Barca after previously playing for them in the competition since Zlatan Ibrahimovic, also for Paris, in December 2014.
- Kylian Mbappé has scored in each of his last five away Champions League appearances against Spanish opposition, only the second player to do so against the same nation in the competition along with Cristiano Ronaldo versus German teams.
- Only Cristiano Ronaldo (23 goals in 39 games) has netted more away from home in the knockout rounds of the Champions League than Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappé (15 in 12 games) with the Frenchman netting more in the competition against Barcelona than against any other side (6).
- In the form of Barcelona pair Pau Cubarsí (17) and Lamine Yamal (16), along with Paris Saint-Germain’s Warren Zaïre-Emery (18), this was the first time three players aged 18 or under have started a Champions League knockout stage match.has context menu
Barcelona vs PSG Stats Centre
Our live Opta match centre delivers you all the Barcelona vs PSG stats from Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League game at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own in-game and post-match analysis.
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