In their Champions League fixture against Barcelona, PSG secured an impressive 4-1 win, taking the aggregate to 6-4 in their favour. Even though Barcelona were met with cheers of hope from the crowd at Montjuïc, they hadn’t made it to the semi-finals in half a decade. However, this was all put to an abrupt end by Kylian Mbappé and his companions from Paris Saint-Germain, as they celebrated their victory on the running track. Despite trailing by two goals in the first leg and one in the second, Luis Enrique’s squad had made an impressive comeback, leading 3-1 and 5-4 overall, creating nail-biting tension until the final whistle.
The match proved to be a gruelling one, especially for Barcelona. They had initially led with a goal from Raphinha, only to be left a man short due to Ronald Araújo’s dismissal. Subsequent goals from Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola, and Mbappe saw them holding onto their 3-1 lead. In the final tense moments, Achraf Hakimi broke free, setting up three consecutive shots that were eventually converted by Mbappé, thus securing their victory.
Leading up to the match, Enrique, who has always maintained his partiality towards Barcelona’s style, had predicted that PSG would press hard, leading Barcelona to adopt a long-ball strategy. His predictions were accurate initially, as Pau Cubarsí had to slide in to stop Mbappé, Araújo intercepted Dembélé, and Frenkie de Jong blocked a shot from Vitinha, all within the first three minutes. Barcelona struggled to breakthrough in the early stages, but managed to score the first time they found an opening.
In their game against Barcelona, PSG had exerted pressure on every player except for Araújo, under the assumption that he was the least skilled at ball handling. To their surprise, Araújo took advantage of being left unguarded after 11 minutes into the game. He sent a well-placed ball towards Lamine Yamal, the young player who immediately sprung into action. Yamal managed to manoeuvre past Nuno Mendes, making an impressive run towards the byline and almost reaching the near post where he retrieved the ball. As Gianluigi Donnarumma lost his position, Raphinha swiftly moved in to score.
This led to a celebration explosion at Montjuïc by Barcelona’s players. However, Araújo, satisfied with his performance, chose to share his triumphant moment with Marc-André ter Stegen. Yamal, at just 16 years of age, shows great promise for the future. Sadly, the exhilaration was short-lived as both Araújo and Yamal were taken off the field within 12 minutes. Araújo chased Barcola and made a fateful touch leading to a dramatic fall – a sight that prompted referee Istvan Kovacs to dismiss Araújo with a red card. Yamal was the unfortunate player taken out from the team to balance the numbers.
Before this incident, Ter Stegen made an extraordinary save from Mbappé’s attempt, which was subsequently cleared off the line by Jules Koundé. PSG, now motivated more than ever, began to dominate the game. Barcola and Dembélé, in particular, sparked trouble with their combined efforts resulting in a tie-breaking goal. The scoring moment came when Barcola sent a pass across the six-yard box that went past Mbappé but found Dembélé at the far post.
Barcelona maintained their two-goal advantage, but it was increasingly shaky. Vitinha fired it high, while Barcola sent it wide. Following that, Mendes’s cross, just beyond João Cancelo, was narrowly volleyed past the goalpost by Dembelé. With 11 attempts, PSG’s last attack of the first half barely scraped by – Barcelona had only two tries – yet they were quick to amass more, wit Ter Stegen deflecting Hakimi’s attempt at the commencement of the second half. Subsequently, Fabián Ruiz, set up by Mbappé, unfortunately pulled it wide from a six-yard range.
Depressingly, Barcelona were continuously driven back, well within their own turf, consequently freeing up space at its brim from which Vitinha leveled the score with an outstanding, ground-level second goal. Instantaneously, Ilkay Gündogan launched a shot that grazed the goalpost, drawing a cheer from Montjuïc, maintaining the spirit of their team which was abruptly snuffed out. It wasn’t surprising that Dembelé was behind this. Sprinting into the area, he found himself tripped up by Cancelo, leading to a penalty converted into a high-scoring shot by Mbappé, well beyond Ter Stegen’s reach.
The desperation in Barcelona’s play was apparent and mirrored in Gündogan’s subsequent endeavour to secure a penalty. However, amidst the stark contrast in performance between the two teams, the margins remained fine with a single goal tipping the scales, stating that the game was far from over.
Lewandowski, aided by Raphinha, was close to a levelling goal but a swift save by Donnarumma thwarted his efforts and the loose ball was captured by Marquinhos, just escaping Ferran Torres. Post this save, Raphinha surpassing Lucas Hernández, pushed the ball wide as he fell over. When the Brazilian delivered a free kick, Donnarumma, the Italian goalkeeper, was the first to rush out, flailing at the air and completely missing the ball, only to be saved luckily by the referee’s offside flag.
Guardian provides a gripping narrative of the recent PSG match. The atmosphere at the stadium was tense, with the crowd anxiously waiting to see if there would be a surprising turn of events towards the end. When Lewandowski from PGG received an unexpected chance and sprinted forward with just two minutes left, the excitement escalated. Unfortunately, his attempt was successfully thwarted by Marquinhos. In an unexpected stroke of luck, Raphinha almost scored directly from a corner, but was denied by an excellent save from Donnarumma. The crowd had been gearing up for what they believed was their last shot at a comeback. The energy levels amplified as everyone eagerly rushed forward. However, PSG quickly took control of the situation. Ambushing from one end to the other, Mbappe dashed through to conclude the match.