Barça was ignominiously eliminated from the Champions League. Xavi and the players retired in the match against PSG
Anatoly Romanov April 17, 2024, 00:06 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Much was decided with the expulsion in the first half. After him, the Blaugranas conceded four.
PSG, having lost the first match at home to Barcelona (2:3), still reached the semifinals of the Champions League. The second leg in the capital of Catalonia was disrupted by an episode, a foul.
In the tactical duel between coaches, some unexpected movements by Luis Enrique could be expected, but this time nothing complicated occurred to him. PSG played 4-3-3 with Mbappé up front as a free agent and Dembélé and Barcola on the flanks. At the same time, when defending, Dembélé was forced to drop low enough towards his defenders to cover the area where Cancelo connected. From the point of view of carrying out a quick attack, this is not the most suitable role for Usman. But in reality Xavi played in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Pedri in a low position in midfield, he helped De Jong. Thus, Barça successfully closed the support zone.
PSG had the ball 65% of the time, but Luis Enrique’s team did not create any scoring opportunities for almost half an hour. The Catalans defended very effectively, breaking all connections between the players of the Parisian attack group. The French champion’s position was further complicated by a quick goal from the home side. Xavi’s team took advantage of the first opportunity when Yamal was left one on one, and the young winger beat Mendes with astonishing ease and gave the goalkeeper a pass to Raphinha: the Brazilian scored with a touch, winning the fight ahead by Hakimi. This is Raphinha’s third goal in the current Champions League. He scored his first two goals in Paris.
Let’s remember the first match of these teams in Paris:
PSG turned the game around against Barça in a couple of minutes. But Javi staged an even cooler comeback!
If Lewandowski had scored midway through the first half, PSG would have sunk. But the Pole simply missed the target from a lethal position. Then, a brief failed period of two or three minutes almost cost the Catalans a missed goal (ter Stegen deprived Mbappé of a goal) and cost Araujo the expulsion. Barça gave PSG space and they achieved it. Barcola escapes one by one, Araujo receives a red card. The Uruguayan tried to convince Romanian judge Kovac that Kubarsi was insuring him, but that was not the case. After being sent off, De Jong temporarily moved into central defense and soon Xavi released Martínez. We had to bench Yamal, who is still weaker in defense than the others in Barcelona.
PSG knew how to capitalize on their numerical advantage before the break. At the end of the first half, Dembélé scored his third goal with the Parisians and the second against his former team. Barça closed, but left space on the flanks: Barcola cut a cross from the left and Cancelo missed Dembélé on the right flank of the rival attack.
After the break, Barcelona defended low and hard in a 4-4-1 formation, while PSG diligently spread the Blaugrana defense apart. The second goal against Ter Stegen seemed like a matter of time. And this happened already in the 54th minute. Luis Enrique’s team took a corner and Barça was missing a player sent off near the semicircle. Vitinha took a great low shot from outside the area.
Xavi roared on the touchline, as if he felt that the next referee’s decision would determine the outcome of the match. The Barcelona coach, following Araujo, earned his expulsion by kicking an object. And at the end of the hour mark, Kovac gave the home team a penalty in a situation that did not seem the most obvious. Cancelo hit the ball, taking it out from under Dembélé’s feet, and the referee saw that he also hit the ball on his leg. The VAR did not consider his decision a mistake: Mbappé converted the penalty with a powerful shot (the fourth of the match). These blows simply cannot be taken on horseback.
It was very difficult for Barcelona in the minority, especially against a rival that knew how to handle the ball well and was fresher for missing the Ligue 1 matchday. But it is not that PSG won without possibilities for the Catalans. The locals also had scoring chances, since Luis Enrique’s team does not play at the level of the Champions League winner in defense. Gundogan, Lewandowski, Rafinha all had chances to score…
In the end, PSG even managed to launch a two-on-four counterattack! Amazing imbalance when you have to play to hold against ten. But Luis Enrique moving forward with his team means that he is right. Winners are not judged. In the 89th minute, Mbappé put the finishing touch to the game by grabbing a lucky rebound in the area and scoring a double. In total, Kylian made 6 of PSG’s 20 shots and was successful four times. Mbappé already has eight goals in this Champions League.
