Champions League
Great goals, equally great assists and twice a great turnaround. The first leg of the Champions League quarter-final between PSG and Barcelona turned out to be a spectacular 2-3 win for the Catalans.
In the Parc de Princes there were not only stars to admire on the field. There were also nice people in the stands, with none other than Luis Figo, Ronaldinho and French national coach Didier Deschamps. They got to see a very pleasant quarter-final in the Champions League.
PSG immediately claimed possession at home, preventing Barcelona from imposing their beloved game. However, the dominance of the Parisians did not provide great opportunities. Mbappé did threaten and looked for openings, but at Barcelona they defended well. A shot from Lee could not embarrass Ter Stegen. Mendes made an unparalleled dribble in the box, but his shot was blocked immediately afterwards.
Barcelona got away well when Cançelo hit Mbappé’s leg in his own box with his studs high in the air. The Portuguese was saved by the offside flag, otherwise he would probably have received a red card and a penalty. Barça was then gradually able to restore balance to the match. Just before half time, the visitors suddenly showed themselves to be even more dangerous than PSG.
Blunders Donnarumma
Thanks to Lamine Yamal. The attacker is still only sixteen, but talent has no age limit. With a stroke of genius he forced Donnarumma to intervene. The PSG goalkeeper did not have his best evening and did not clear the ball well, allowing Raphinha to put the 0-1 on the scoreboard on the rebound. Moments earlier, Donnarumma had already blundered by going under a corner. However, Lewandowski’s attempt was cleared off the line by Mendes.
However, Barcelona could not enjoy the lead for long, as PSG came out of the dressing room like a steam train after the break. PSG corrected the lopsided situation in five minutes. First, Dembélé scored the equalizer high and hard. He was reached by Mbappé, then misled the Barcelona defense with a cutting move and then scored a beautiful goal.
PSG’s next attack was another prize. A perfect through ball from Ruiz was finished just as perfectly by Vitinha. PSG suddenly took the lead. Barcelona had to recover for a while, but a double substitution from Xavi turned the game around again. Pedri and João Felix were allowed to try for another half hour to turn the score around and they succeeded.
After a bad kick from Donnarumma, Barcelona were given possession of the ball. Pedri – just back from injury – had only been on the field for two minutes when he delivered a pass that eliminated PSG’s entire defense. Raphinha happily unwrapped his teammate’s gift and again finished strongly. Not much later, PSG was completely on the ropes: a header from substitute Christensen completed the remontada. PSG no longer had an answer – attempts from Dembélé and Mbappé were just not precise enough. Barcelona recorded a spectacular 2-3 win and can look forward to the return next week with confidence.
Atlético and Witsel hold off Dortmund
In Madrid, Axel Witsel faced a reunion with his ex-club Borussia Dortmund. The (former?) Red Devil has become a strong player at the back at Atlético and also started in the starting line-up on Wednesday. He saw his teammate Rodrigo De Paul open the scoring after four minutes. Atlético pressed on and had already taken a double lead after half an hour: Samuel Lino made it 2-0.
The Madrilenians seemed to be heading for a comfortable victory, but Dortmund pulled off a punishing final offensive. The Germans scored the tying goal ten minutes before the end through striker Sébastien Haller and saw Julian Brandt’s 2-2 break at the intersection in extra time. Witsel and co. can travel to Dortmund next week with a bonus. (blg)
