On Wednesday, the UCL second league quarter-final clash between Paris Saint Germain and FC Barcelona ended on a high note as the French attackers and the Real Madrid-bound striker Kylian Mbappe struck twice as the Parisians came in from behind to beat a 10-man Barcelona at their own home ground Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium by making it 1-4 (4-6 in aggregate)
The goals from ex-Barcelona man Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe broke Barca fan’s hearts after they sent their team directly into the semi-finals of the Uefa Champions League to face Borussia Dortmund.
Paris Saint Germain’s Brilliant Comeback
The match started in the Catalans favor in the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium as the Brazilian winger Raphinha opened the scoring for the Barcelona in the 12th minute with a close range shot after a shining display from the 16 year old Lamine Yamal down the right making it 4-2 in aggregate.
The hosts were playing it firmly to keep the visitors under their hold but their evening took a massive turn when their Uruguayan defender Ronald Araujo was sent off directly in the 29th minute by making a massive challenge on the US international Bradley Barcola.
However, Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint Germain took advantage of the situation as the former Barcelona player Ousmane Dembele scored it level for the Parisians in the 40th minute by blasting the ball directly into the top right corner of the hosts’ nets.
In the second half, it was about the brilliant counter-attacking display by the Parisians as they levelled the aggregate score in the 54th minute after a magnificent 25-yard goal by the Portuguese midfielder Vitinha making it 1-2.
After a few minutes, French international Kylian Mbappe took the lead for the Parisians by making it 1-3(4-5 agg) in the 61st minute from a penalty after the Barca defender Joao Cancelo fouled Ousmane Dembele inside the penalty box.
However, the Real Madrid-linked striker broke the hearts of the Barca fans after he smashed his second goal in the match from a close range in the 89th minute by making it 1-4(4-6 agg).
Barcelona Suffered After the Send off of Araujo
Xavi’s side played well in the first half of the match by keeping the pressure on Paris Saint Germain after the Brazilian winger Raphinha opened the scoring for Barca by making it 4-2 in aggregate.
However, Ronald Araujo’s red card completely changed the matter and the situation went straight out of their hands.
On the other hand, the visitors took advantage of the 10-man situation and delivered a perfect result to take some revenge for 2017 ‘Remontoda‘ where FC Barcelona scored six goals against PSG in their home ground Camp Nou by making it an aggregate of 6-5. The goals were scored by MSN(Messi, Neymar, Suarez), Sergio Roberto, and an own goal by Larvin Kurzawa.
In the two legs Barcelona kept Mbappe pretty quiet, but the French international stepped up and rescued his team to keep their dreams of winning the Champions League alive.
This was a huge and massive night both for Xavi and his team to progress to the semi-finals of the Uefa Champions League since their last appearance in 2018-19 Champions League but they missed the opportunity due to some bad decisions by both the management and the manager.
Player of the Match
It was however a tough decision to choose the player of the match as there were amazing performances from Mbappe, Vitinha, and Ousmane Dembele.
But it was none other than the former Barcelona player Ousmane Dembele who opened the scoring for the Paris Saint Germain and also won a penalty to put the visitors in command of the situation as he received a lot of boos from his former team’s supporters.
