Anyone who thought after the two breathtaking quarter-final first legs on Tuesday that things would be a little more leisurely on Wednesday was disappointed. The initial phase in the duel between PSG and Barcelona was not quite as turbulent as, for example, Real Madrid against Manchester City. After half an hour, however, the game really got going in the Parc des Princes.
PSG transformed after the break
The better of the few chances in the first half belonged to the guests. So it was hardly surprising that it was the Spaniards who opened the Skore. In the 37th minute, the rushing PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was unable to decisively clear a clever cross from Lamine Yamal. The ball landed at the feet of Raphinha, who scored from 16 meters to make it 1-0.
Although there was no immediate reaction from the Parisians, coach Luis Enrique’s half-time speech must have been tough, because the home team came out of the locker room like the fire brigade. PSG put a lot of pressure on the Barcelona defense in the starting minutes of the second half and were quickly rewarded for it – twice within 134 seconds:
- 48th minute: Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé combine in the Barça penalty area. In a tight space, Dembélé fakes the shot with his right foot and creates space to then smash the ball under the crossbar with his left – 1-1.
- 51st minute: PSG midfielder Fabian Ruiz has too much space on the edge of the penalty area. The Spaniard passes through to Vitinha, who finds a way past Marc-Andre ter Stegen from a short distance but not at an optimal angle – 2-1.
Xavi with a golden touch
Instead of using the momentum from the double strike for further offensive actions, PSG slowed down at least a gear with the lead behind them. Luis Enrique’s change after just over an hour, in which he replaced the agile winger Kang-in Lee with the more defensive midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery, also indicated that the Parisians wanted to secure their lead rather than expand it.
However, this venture went wrong, and badly. One of the main people responsible for this was Luis Enrique’s counterpart Xavi, who showed a golden touch with two of his substitutions:
- Pedri: The Spaniard came into the game in the 61st minute and, with his very first touch of the ball, put Raphinha in the spotlight with a first-class sugar cross. The Brazilian volleys the ball into the net at full speed to make it 2-2. A technically outstanding goal.
- Andreas Christensen: The Danish defense specialist comes on as a substitute in the 75th minute. He gets his first touch of the ball from a corner – and heads it into the corner for the 3-2 winning goal.
A few seconds before Christensen’s strike, Dembélé had only hit the post on the other side. And so Barcelona won a game that could have gone either way. But the last word has not yet been spoken. The decision will be made in the second leg next Tuesday in Spain.