Having bagged a 3-2 win at the Parc des Princes on April 10, Barcelona were bubbling with confidence coming into the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final clash with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Playing in front of a packed Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Tuesday (April 16), the Blaugrana truly believed they would see out the Parisians and secure passage into the semi-final for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
As the night aged, their hope turned into desperation. Luis Enrique’s men comprehensively outclassed Xavi’s boys and bagged a brilliant 4-1 win in Catalonia, cruising to the semi-final with a 6-4 aggregate scoreline.
Barcola’s Dancing Feet Reduce Barcelona To 10 Men in The First Half
PSG came charging out of the gates at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Tuesday night, but they could not put Barca goalie Marc-Andre ter Stegen under pressure. Having survived the early onslaught, Barcelona went on the attack in the 12th minute, and put their noses in front, courtesy of a brilliant bit of play by 16-year-old Lamine Yamal. The winger dashed down the right flank, beat Nuno Mendes, and swung a brilliant low cross into the area. Raphinha met the delivery with his shin to send it into the back of the net.
PSG created a couple more chances over the next 15 minutes, but Barcelona were largely at ease. It all changed in the 29th minute when Bradley Barcola tricked Ronald Araujo into getting a red card. Barcola latched on to a through-ball down the left and cut inside, running clear of last man Araujo. Eager to stop him, the Uruguayan pulled him down and the referee unhesitantly presented a straight red. Barca argued for the following few minutes, but neither the referee nor the VAR was moved.
Five minutes before the break, PSG made their extra man count, as Ousmane Dembele applied a first-time finish to Barcola’s low cross at the far post. Nine minutes into the second half, Vitinha found the back of Barcelona’s net with a long-range piledriver, putting PSG 2-1 up on the night and leveling the tie at 4-4.
Kylian Mbappe Bags Excellent Brace To Send PSG Through To Semis
PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe got a lot of flak for not firing on all cylinders in the first leg. On Tuesday, he silenced his critics by delivering a world-class performance in Barcelona’s backyard. The Real Madrid-bound winger took a little while to get into the groove, but once he did, he did not look back. He tormented the 10-man Barcelona with his pace and link-up play and sealed the tie with two fine goals in the second half.
In the 59th minute, Joao Cancelo tackled Dembele inside the penalty area, giving away a clear penalty. Mbappe stepped up to take the resulting spot kick and found the top-left corner with a thunderous right-footed strike. Barca tried to crawl back into the contest and created a few decent opportunities. However, much to the home fans’ dismay, they lacked the finishing touch.
In the 89th minute, Mbappe sealed the win for PSG, latching on to Jules Kounde’s poor clearance and turning it home from the six-yard box. The match-winning strikes aside, Mbappe created two chances, completed 27 passes with 93% accuracy, pulled off two dribbles, and played four passes into the final third. A top-tier performance from arguably the best player in the world!
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