Reigning Champions League kings PSG subdue hard-fighting Barcelona

Goncalo Ramos scores the winner

Paris Saint-Germain claimed a 2-1 win over Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League to make them the first club in history to beat the Catalans in three successive European away games.

Both teams were missing key players, but that didn’t stop the game from starting at a frenetic pace with Lamine Yamal beating five players on a mazy run in the first couple of minutes.

PSG broke at pace when in possession and were also a constant threat, with Illia Zabarnyi almost powering home from a corner.

As the game settled down, a congested midfield resembled a pinball machine at times, as neither side was able to put their foot on the ball.

Yamal’s defence-splitting pass picked out Ferran Torres, but his goalbound effort was cleared by Zabarnyi.

The Spaniard wasn’t to be denied, however, sliding home the opener in the 19th minute after a wonderful assist from Marcus Rashford.

Barcelona were in the ascendancy as the game approached the 30-minute mark, but the visitors still looked dangerous each time they broke.

Bradley Barcola passed up a glorious opportunity shortly before Wojciech Szczesny had to be at full-stretch to deny Achraf Hakimi from a free-kick.

Nuno Mendes’ forceful run drew a foul and a booking for Frenkie de Jong, and another surge forward shortly after from the PSG left-back ended when he found Senny Mayulu for the equaliser.

Barcola then missed another sitter as Barca’s defence went to sleep approaching half-time, with the hosts being the more grateful for Michael Oliver’s whistle.

The match momentum

A more cautious opening to the second half from Barca and some sloppy passing allowed PSG to knock the ball around with ease.

Dani Olmo was the next to be booked after having broken up another lightning-fast move from the visitors, whilst some spirited running from Rashford was all the hosts could offer in return.

Hakimi’s goal-line stop from Olmo and some long-range efforts from the hosts saw the pendulum swing slightly again, and a triple change from Hansi Flick freshened things up somewhat.

Timely interventions from Pau Cubarsi and Ferran Torres kept PSG at bay as they searched for the winner, and they almost grabbed it as Lee Kang-in smashed a shot against the foot of the post.

All of the late pressure came from the visitors, and it wasn’t a surprise when Goncalo Ramos exposed Barca’s high line for the winner.

PSG’s victory means that they’ve still lost just once in their last seven UCL games (W6), and it brings to an end a run that had seen Barcelona lose just once in their previous 12 home matches in the group/league phase.

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