He Barcelona surprised this Wednesday Paris Saint Germain away and, with their 2-3 victory, took advantage in a quarter-final tie of the UEFA champions league which will have its outcome next Tuesday in Barcelona.
With a double from Raphinha and a goal from Christensen, which marked the comeback, Barcelona stormed the Parc des Princes, the bastion of a faded Kylian Mbappé, and gained a good chance of qualifying for the semi-finals of the competition.
Xavi Hernández’s men signed a high-flying performance, the first in many years in Europe, and with a lot of personality and their newly released defensive strength, dThey overwhelmed a PSG that had two brilliant minutes that were about to derail the good Catalan performance.
But Barcelona reacted well and took a victory that Luis Enrique’s men’s streak of games without defeat stops at 27, while raising Xavi Hernández’s number to twelve, who has not lost since announcing the end of his adventure on the Blaugrana bench when this season ends.
In a duel witnessed by Ronaldinho, the player who wore both shirts, which the local fans presented with Star Wars music, it was the Barcelona fans who defeated the Qatari empire. The war of egos that had arisen between two sides that were fighting to be more apostles of the possession game, the PSG gave the first blows and He came out to overwhelm a Barcelona that did not lose face and was based on the defensive strength that Pau Cubarsí gave it.
Barcelona was not daunted, and endured the storm firmly, knowing that at any moment the sun could rise again.
So, in the 37th minutea combination between the Polish veteran and the young Spanish Yamal, who with the outside of his foot placed the ball at mid-height, a ball poorly cleared by the transalpine goalkeeper that left the ball at the feet of Raphinha that, this time, He adjusted his shot into the net, his first European goal.
The local reaction would come after the break. Dembelé, the player who this summer decided to change Barcelona for Paris, achieved the equalizer in a good play that caught the defense asleep and he resolved with a shot that reached the net for his first goal in Europe and the second of the season.
Two minutes later Vitinha easily pierced Barcelona’s lines. The goal left Barça affected but in an action that Pedri created, Raphinha achieved the tie, which balanced the mood, although PSG, led by Vitinha in the absence of Mbappé, seemed more launched on the attack and Dembelé crashed a ball into the post in the 75th minute.
Two minutes later, in a corner kick, the French misaligned the defense and Christensen, who had just replaced De Jong, headed Barcelona’s third.
With this result, the team led by Xavi Hernández requires a tie by any score or a victory to secure its presence within the best 4 of the competition.
While the Parisian team has no choice but to go to Spain to win by at least one goal to force extension, or in its case do so by a couple or more scores to advance to the semifinals.
*With information from EFE.
*Keep reading:
· Kylian Mbappé sends a warning to FC Barcelona ahead of their duel for the Champions League
· Nothing for anyone: In a great game of tumbling, Real Madrid and Manchester City tied 3-3
· This is how the Champions League quarterfinals look like: Who are they facing each other and when are they?