Barcelona defeated PSG 3-2 in Paris in the opening match of the quarter-finals of the Champions League. In Wednesday’s second match, Atletico Madrid beat Dortmund 2–1 at home.
French soccer giant PSG’s dream of winning the first Champions League in the club’s history took a small hit when the Parisians lost 2-3 at home to Barcelona in the opening leg of the quarterfinals.
Brazilian striker Raphinha took the away team’s lead in the opening half, but PSG pushed back and passed Ousmane Dembele’s and Shit hit at the beginning of the second half.
Barcelona made successful substitutions in the second half. Sergi Roberto Substituted in the 61st minute Peter freed Raphinha to score again in the 62nd minute, and the Danish defender Andreas Christensen puski The final readings from the corner kick a quarter of an hour later.
The semi-finalists are decided based on aggregate goals, so PSG would have to beat Barcelona at the Catalans’ home stadium, Santiago Bernabéu.
Barcelona managed to overshadow PSG’s superstar Kylian Mbappe’swho didn’t have a single shot on goal and only touched the ball 44 times, which is the fewest of the entire team.
– When he doesn’t perform, then the team always plays poorly. He can’t be this bad in the next match. Mbappe is a man of big matches. If he decides to turn the game around, he will be able to take them on, the 2008 Champions League winner Rio Ferdinand said.
Head coach of PSG Luis Enrique regretted the result.
– We need some time to process this, but it’s a real shame that we lost.
Enrique emphasized that PSG played a good second half and practically prevented Barcelona from moving into the Parisians’ half of the pitch before the 2-2 draw.
Barcelona head coach Xavi was satisfied with his team’s performance both in attack and defense.
– We defended really well against Mbappe and created a lot of scoring opportunities. Raphinha decided the match, and the substitutes helped us a lot, said the Spanish pilot.
Xavi also praised the club’s academy students Lamine Yamalia16, and Pau Cubars17, who became the youngest players to play in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
– “La Masia” growers are really committed. I am really happy. The team is new, but we are on the right track.
Ferdinand was amazed by the youth’s fearless actions in a tough place.
– If you think about what we did when we were that age, we wouldn’t have been able to perform with such energy in such a place.
In Wednesday’s second quarter-final, Atletico Madrid beat Dortmund 2–1 at home.