Sub-edited by Carlos Acosta
PSG travel to Spain to face Barcelona in their first leg of the round of 16. Barcelona have knocked out the French giants in their past three meetings in the competition.
In fact, you would have to go all the way back to 1995 to find the last time PSG progressed past Barcelona. When these two sides clash they put on a show. You only have to go back to 2017, when Barcelona pulled off an unbelievable comeback to win 6-5 on aggregate.
PSG will be without star player Neymar due to an ongoing injury. They do still have a wealth of talent in the squad and will hope it’s enough to get ahead in the first leg.
Harry Buckett will be taking you through the action.
Starting Lineups:
KICK OFF PSG get us going at the Camp Nou.
6′ It’s a fast-paced start from both sides this evening. Quick passing movements look to be the way for both sides so far, which should help to make this an exciting encounter.
10′ Moise Kean shows off a bit of what he can do as he glides into the box and wins PSG the first corner of the game. He looks to be a dangerous player early on, one the Barca defence will have to look out for.
14′ CHANCE First real chance of the game goes Barcelona’s way. Pedri managed to slot the ball into the box for Antoine Griezmann to run onto. He takes the ball, perhaps a bit too wide, and his low effort is saved fairly comfortably by Keylor Navas.
Embed from Getty Images19′ CHANCE Kylian Mbappe is given too much space to play with, giving him the chance to play a brilliant ball through to Mauro Icardi. His shot beats the keeper but is cleared away from the goal to keep the scores level. Icardi should have really done better with that one on one opportunity.
20′ YELLOW Idrissa Gueye earns himself the first yellow card of the game after bringing down Pedri.
26′ PENALTY Frankie De Jong goes down in the box after his heels are clipped as he makes a run for the ball. There is contact, though it is minimal, and VAR backs up the referees decision.
27′ GOAL (BAR 1-0 PSG) Lionel Messi converts the penalty, firing it into the top right-hand corner. Navas was given no chance.
Embed from Getty Images28′ CHANCE A quick opportunity to go two up but Ousmane Dembele’s shot has no power in it, making it simple for Navas. Sloppy defending from PSG nearly costing them twice in a few minutes.
32′ GOAL (BAR 1-1 PSG) Mbappe fires home to bring it level. It all comes from Marco Verrati’s creative dink into the penalty area, and with the help of some quick feet, Mbappe can smash the ball into the top corner from close range. What a response from the French side. Game on.
35′ SAVE Layvin Kurzawa gets free of his man and aims for the far corner. The slightest of touches from Andre Ter Stegen takes it past the post. Crucial stop from Barcelona’s number one.
37′ CLOSE What a solo goal that would have been. Griezmann runs half the pitch to a quick break but his eventual shot is agonisingly wide of the post. This is end to end stuff tonight, with chances coming in bucket loads.
38′ Another shot, this time from Gueye. It’s from a fair way out and requires a strong punch from Ter Stegen to direct it away from goal.
43′ Ter Stegen makes a hash of a pass, resulting in a corner. From this Icardi comes so close to putting his side ahead with a powerful header that goes just wide. Ter Stegen getting away with one there, not sure how he managed to make his pass fly straight upwards, but he did.
HALF TIME Barcelona 1-1 PSG
Embed from Getty ImagesBoth sides remain level going into the break, following an exciting first half. Neither side has really had full control over the game, with plenty of chances occurring at either end. It really is all to play for going into the second half to see which side will gain that edge going into the second leg.
46′ We are back underway in the Champions League.
50′ SAVE Brilliant stop from Ter Stegen. Icardi tees up Keane to shoot first time from a tight angle. The shot takes a strong deflection but Ter Stegen is able to readjust and palm the ball away. Odd decision making from Icardi, a shot was a much better option than a pass, he was practically clean through.
62′ Barcelona shout for a penalty after an apparent handball in the box. It definitely strikes the hand of Kean, but it was kicked at him from such close range there wasn’t really anything he could do about it. No penalty given.
65′ GOAL (BAR 1-2 PSG) Mbappe makes it two. Leandro Parades pulls off a fantastic long ball over the top of the Barca defence for Kurzawa to run onto. It looks as if Gerard Pique has saved the day, blocking a ball across goal, but it falls in the path of Mbappe and he just doesn’t miss those.
A great quick break from PSG, they have looked really dangerous tonight and if it wasn’t for Ter Stegen they could maybe even be one or two more ahead.
68′ CHANCE It’s turning into the Kylian Mbappe show as he skips past his man and comes close to a hat trick. It’s the leg of Ter Stegen which denies him, the fifth big save he has made today.
70′ GOAL (BAR 1-3 PSG) Kean makes it three. Kean loses his man in the box to head in a superbly delivered free-kick from Parades. Awful marking from the Spanish side, letting Kean run completely free, but what a performance from PSG tonight, giving Barcelona more and more of a hill to climb.
Embed from Getty Images71′ SUBSTITION Sergino Dest makes way for Oscar Mingueza.
79′ SUBSTITUTION’S Trincao, Ricard Puig and Miralem Pjanic all come on to replace Pique, Pedri and Sergio Busquets.
82′ A moment of madness from Keylor Navas as he almost gifts Barcelona a goal. He takes way too long on the ball meaning his eventual pass is closed down by Greizmann, almost sending the ball into the far corner. Another keeper mistake almost costing their side.
Kean also makes way for Danilo Pereira for PSG.
85′ GOAL (BAR 1-4 PSG) It’s his first time playing Barca and Mbappe has only gone and scored a hat trick.
PSG come flying forward with a devastating counter-attack, leaving Barca in a three on three situation. Mbappe is teed up on the left side and bends it into the opposite top corner beautifully.
A great finish to a brilliant counter. Barcelona have been completely outplayed in this second half. They are going to have to wish for a repeat of five years ago if they want to have a chance of getting to the quarter-finals.
90′ There will be five minutes of added time
FULL TIME Barcelona 1-4 PSG
Embed from Getty ImagesTwo words, Kylian Mbappe.
He ran the show today as PSG breeze past Barcelona with a lot more ease than it should have been.
Barcelona seem to be losing their shine, particularly this season. A big loss to Juventus in the group stages and now conceding four at home to PSG.
Really the only player that had a good showing for them was Ter Stegen, who kept them from being completely embarrassed.
We can make comparisons to five years ago when they turned around a similar deficit against PSG, but this is a completely different side. This is an underperforming Barcelona that looks to really be struggling.
Despite Barcelona’s performance, you still have to praise PSG as they were excellent. They made lots of opportunities and were clinical with them. Four away goals going into the second leg isn’t half bad either.
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