SETTABLOID

Young forward Lamine Yamal was the first casualty for Barcelona after the Blaugrana lost Ronald Araujo through a direct red card in the first half of their 1-4 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

The young forward had to make way for veteran defender Inigo Martinez as Xavi decided it was important for the team to shore up the defence with the team being a man down.

It is no secret that the expulsion of Araujo had a significant impact on the Barcelona vs. PSG match, ultimately affecting the outcome of the tie.

Araujo’s absence left a noticeable gap in Barcelona’s defensive setup and disrupted their momentum. By the team he was given his marching orders, the Uruguayan was key to Xavi’s plans.

However, Xavi opted to reshuffle the team, sacrificing a forward to compensate. Among Lewandowski, Raphinha, and the young academy player, the latter seemed the most straightforward choice.

Post-match, emotions ran high and Yamal was visibly emotional, struggling to contain his tears, while Pau Cubarsi, too, was devastated by the unexpected defeat.

The disappointment was palpable, especially considering Barcelona’s advantageous position after the first leg.

Yamal has a promising future ahead, but his competitive drive made him particularly affected by the recent loss against Paris Saint-Germain, compounded by his circumstances.

Following the match, Lamine took to Instagram to share his thoughts. Despite the setback, his message exuded optimism and the determination typical of a competitive athlete.

Football always offers redemption. We’ll bounce back,” wrote Lamine Yamal, accompanied by two hearts—one blue, the other scarlet. He shared four photos from the game, including one capturing his pivotal role in a goal celebration.

The entire Barcelona squad would have been devastated by the match result as everybody expected the team to progress, especially given the advantage they had from the first leg.

Following the events of last night, though, everybody in the locker room needs to keep their heads up and work towards the upcoming away match against Real Madrid.

Paris Saint-Germain pulled off a comeback win over FC Barcelona on Tuesday night at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. After trailing 1-0, the capital club received a lifeline from Ronald Araújo, who was sent off following a foul on Bradley Barcola.

Once Barcelona was playing with ten men, the Parisians took advantage of the situation. Luis Enrique and his team scored four unanswered goals, with Ousmane Dembélé haunting his former team with a goal late in the first half.

Vitinha scored in the 54th minute to level the scoring on aggregate at 4-4 as the Ligue 1 side took a 2-1 lead in the match. Kylian Mbappé scored on a penalty kick in the 61st minute and added the insurance goal in the 89th minute for what would be a 6-4 aggregate score. 

After the loss, İlkay Gündoğan spoke to CBS Sports and vented his frustration, highlighting the Araújo foul that led to their elimination from the UEFA Champions League.

“I think in these crucial moments, you need to be sure to get the ball,” Gündoğan said postgame. “If you don’t get it, and I don’t know, again, if [Araújo] touches the ball or not, you have to stay away.

“I prefer, of course, to concede the goal there or maybe give the striker a one-on-one, even though he played the ball quite far, so I don’t even know if he was able to reach the ball. But give him the opportunity, let our goalkeeper maybe save us, or even concede the goal, to go down one man, get a red card, so early in the game, just kills you.”

PSG are now off to the Champions League semifinal, where they’ll face Borussia Dortmund, whom they’ve already encountered in the group stage this season.

Barcelona’s journey in this season’s Champions League has come to an end at the quarter-final stage thanks to a painful 4-1 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in Tuesday’s second leg at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium. Barça started the game with a strong team performance and took the lead early on, but a controversial red card after 30 minutes completely changed the game and the tie, and a 10-man Barça side fought hard but couldn’t hold off the visitors as PSG got the goals needed to complete the comeback and advance to the semi-finals.

FIRST HALF

Barça began the second leg with a very similar strategy to last week: the Catalans gave PSG the ball and looked to avoid conceding an early goal, defend deep inside their half with a well-organized structure.

The plan worked as PSG had all of the possession but did nothing with it, and to make things even better Barça took the lead on their very first attack: Lamine Yamal received the ball on the right wing, dribbled past Nuno Mendes with ease and found Raphinha in the six-yard box for a tap-in to put the home team in front.

The home team looked very comfortable in the minutes following the opener, staying organized at the back and looking to control the midfield and get the ball to the forward players in good positions. PSG offered very little threat until a shot by Kylian Mbappé that required a world-class save from Marc-André ter Stegen, but Barça still looked in pretty good shape.

Then at the half-hour mark everything changed: a mistake in midfield led to a pass that released Bradley Barcola through on goal, and Ronald Araujo fouled the French forward just outside the box. The referee deemed it as a denial of a goalscoring opportunity and showed Araujo a straight red card, and Barça were suddenly down to 10 men with a full hour still to play.

PSG were offered a way back in the tie and took full advantage, applying real pressure against a vulnerable Barça defense. Xavi Hernández took off Yamal and replaced him with Iñigo Martínez to reshape the back four, which meant the Blaugrana were a lot less threatening going forward and were fully committed to defending their lead.

But with five minutes to go in the period PSG scored the equalizer: Vitinha found Barcola alone on the left wing and his cross found Ousmane Dembélé at the far post, and the former Barça man smashed it home to make it 1-1. Dembélé nearly scored again just seconds later with a volley that went just wide, and PSG looked ready to take the lead at any moment.

The halftime whistle came to give Barça 15 minutes of relief and a chance to design a second half plan to avoid conceding again, but PSG had all of the momentum and knew they had 45 minutes against 10 men to find the goals needed to turn the tie around. Would the visitors complete the comeback or were Barça about to create yet another heroic Champions League moment against PSG?

SECOND HALF

The second half started as expected, with PSG owning the ball and Barça parking the bus looking for an early goal. Achraf Hakimi forced a good save from Ter Stegen and Fabián Ruiz missed an easy chance after a pass from Mbappé in the first five minutes, and PSG’s goal seemed just a matter of time.

And indeed it was: the visitors took a short corner and the ball came to Vitinha at the edge of the box, and the Portuguese midfielder was allowed plenty of time and space to fire a rocket that found the bottom corner and gave the visitors the lead.

Barça almost responded immediately with a shot from Ilkay Gündogan that hit the post, but the Catalans were dealt a potential knockout blow at the hour mark: João Cancelo fouled Dembélé inside the box, and Mbappé scored the penalty to give PSG a two-goal lead that was enough to send them through.

Xavi Hernández was sent off for dissent shortly before the third goal, so his brother Óscar took charge and sent on Ferran Torres as Barça had a half-hour to find at least one goal to get back in the tie. Robert Lewandowski forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a very good save, and the Catalans had not yet given up as we reached the final 15 minutes.

Xavi and Óscar made one last roll of the dice with two attacking changes that brought João Félix and Fermín López into the fold and moved Raphinha to left-back, and Barça threw caution to the wind looking for a late miracle.

That miracle never happened, and PSG managed to seal the deal at the death: the visitors went on a devastating counter-attack from a Barça corner, and after two monster saves by Ter Stegen the ball fell to Mbappé who found the net for the second time and secured qualification for the Parisians.

The final whistle came to end yet another tragic night in Europe for Barça, but this one doesn’t even begin to compare to Rome, Anfield or Bayern. Barça were the better team for almost all of the first 120 minutes of the tie and probably would have qualified if not for the Araujo red card that changed everything. Barça fought as hard and for as long as they could, but PSG’s talent eventually took over.

This one hurts. A lot. But I’m very, very proud of this team.

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsí, Cancelo (Félix 82’); Pedri (Ferran 62’), De Jong (Fermín 82’); Yamal (Iñigo 34’), Gündogan, Raphinha; Lewandowski

Goal: Raphinha (12’)

Red Card: Araujo (29’)

PSG: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Hernández, Mendes; Zaïre-Emery (Ugarte 80’), Vitinha, Fabián (Asensio 77’); Dembélé (Muani 88’), Mbappé, Barcola (Lee 77’)

Goals: Dembélé (40’), Vitinha (54’), Mbappé (pen 61’, 89’)

As the prospect of a place in the Champions League semi-finals loomed, Barcelona welcomed PSG at the Montjuic Stadium, with excitement pulsating through the stands.

The first half undeniably met expectations, as Barça and PSG scored a goal each. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha combined superbly to open the scoring, but the hosts lost momentum after Ronald Araujo clumsily picked up a red card in the 30th minute.

Taking advantage of Barcelona’s reduced personnel, PSG responded strongly with Ousmane Dembele’s strike in the 40th minute.

In the second half, the ghosts of Barcelona’s past came back to haunt them as Barcelona lost their lead and conceded goals in quick succession, halting their dreams of lifting the Champions League trophy.

Ter Stegen: 4/10

Pulled off some good stops in the dying embers of the game, yet shockingly conceded four goals.

He could do little about Ousmane Dembele finding the roof of the net with a great strike. Even so, the German was partially at fault for allowing Vitnha to score from such a distance.

Mbappe’s penalty was well-struck, but Ter Stegen once again could not deliver on a Champions League night.

Jules Kounde: 8/10

The Frenchman continued his excellent run of form as he maturely positioned himself well and came out on top in most 1v1 duels against Bradley Barcola. Kounde’s distribution helped the Catalans overcome PSG’s first wave of pressure, too.

He defended his flank impressively but was let down by his supporting cast in defense.

Ronald Araujo: 3/10

Started the game off strong with good blocks and interceptions. Araujo even instigated the play for Barcelona’s opener with a well-timed ball to Yamal.

However, the Uruguayan put Barcelona in a real pickle with a reckless tackle on Bradley Barcola, which saw him receive a red card around the half-hour mark of the game.

Pau Cubarsi: 6/10

Cubarsi had some unusual errors in possession, but he won a majority of his ground duels and distributed the ball to Barcelona’s wide channels constantly to relieve pressure. Made some great last-ditch tackles as well.

But as Barcelona began forcing themselves in attack more, cracks in defense grew and Cubarsi suffered concealing them.

Joao Cancelo: 3/10

The Portuguese held his own well defending against Ousmane Dembele during the opening stages of the game. But in the 40th minute, he left Dembele vacant on the far post and paid the price as the Frenchman embraced the roof of the net.

Eventually, Cancelo also ended up gifting PSG a penalty, which Mbappe effortlessly converted.

Frenkie de Jong: 5/10

Tasked with winning the ball back as the defensive midfielder, Frenkie had some good moments but lacked the concentration to track his markers, which led to PSG launching some dangerous shots and Vitinha scoring a scorcher in the second half.

Pedri Gonzalez: 6.5/10

Stationed deeper in a double pivot, his defensive work and line-breaking passes in transition were crucial for Barcelona in the first half.

Still, after Araujo’s red card, Pedri’s presence dwindled considerably as Barcelona were largely huddled in a low block. He came off for Ferran Torres around the hour mark.

Ilkay Gundogan: 7/10

Gundogan was unable to impose any influence on Barcelona’s possession as he was mainly used as an option in transition or when the Blaugranes tried to go long.

Still, he was not his usual self on the ball and infrequently won the ball back.

Lamine Yamal: 7.5/10

Yamal suddenly breathed life into Barcelona with a marauding run on the right flank to assist Raphinha’s opener.

However, his promising night was abruptly halted when he was substituted for Inigo Martinez following Araujo’s sending-off.

Robert Lewandowski: 5/10

The Polish talisman failed to replicate his stellar performance from the first leg. Lewandowski looked uneasy against PSG’s pressure and could not find the net despite having a few solid scoring opportunities.

Had a golden opportunity in the second half to find the winner if only he passed to Ferran Torres on his right, but he took the shot on himself which was blocked.

Raphinha: 7.5/10

Raphinha extended his scoring streak against PSG immediately, as the Brazilian popped up in a great position to score the opener from point-blank range.

While he struggled to take on defenders in 1v1 scenarios, Raphinha constantly attempted to eliminate PSG’s last line of defense with his runs off the ball.

Inigo Martinez: 6/10

Filling in for Ronald Araujo, Inigo Martinez was unable to offer assurance in the back-line and was poorly positioned on a number of occasions.

Ferran Torres: 6/10

The Spaniard offered some threat when Barcelona opted to go long and attack in transition but had minimal influence in the front line.

Paris Saint-Germain came from behind against Barcelona to qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League with an emphatic and historic 4-1 victory away from home. Luis Enrique became the first ex-Barça manager to knock out the Catalan side in the Champions League, whilst Les Parisiens turn around an away deficit in the Champions League knockout second leg for the very first time thanks to goals from Dembélé, Vitinha, and a brace from Kylian Mbappé,

PSG needed a performance of historic proportions away from home to try and overturn last week’s chaotic 3-2 loss at the Parc des Princes. Luis Enrique’s men began the game with plenty of intent, dominating the ball in the early stages and managing to work the ball into the box. Yet, it was the Catalan side who managed to open the scoring (albeit against the run of play) by the 11th minute. Barça’s Lamine Yamal drove down the right side and provided a perfect square ball for a well-positioned Raphinha to turn home to open the scoring for the home side.

With the aggregate lead set at 4-2, things were looking increasingly desperate for PSG, but Kylian Mbappé had two great chances to reduce the lead — firstly with a low shot on goal, and then a header which flew over the bar. Les Parisiens would then be handed a potential route back into the game, as Ronald Ajaúro was immediately sent off for bringing down Bradley Barcola who was bearing down on goal after beating the Barça defender for pace.

PSG would then get a deserved goal to get them back into the tie through Ousmane Dembélé, after a wicked pass flashed in front of the six-yard box by Bradley Barcola. The former Barça man got his second goal against the Catalan side with an emphatic strike into the roof of the net.

The beginning of the second half would mirror that of the first, with Enrique’s side playing with intensity and with several waves of incisive attacks within the first five minutes. Achraf Hakimi’s stinging. shot was diverted onto the bar by Ter Stegen, before Barcola almost finished from a tight angle only minutes later.

Vitinha would put PSG ahead with a fine strike from the edge of the box, rifling low past Ter Stegen to his left side as Les Parisiens levelled up the aggregate score. It was a leveller which saw Barça and especially Xavi, lose control on tie, as PSG showed a rarely seen mental maturity on the biggest stage of European football. Xavi would be sent off by referee Istvan Kovacs and it took only a few minutes for PSG to complete the comeback and take the lead in the tie on the hour mark.

This time Bradley Barcola was involved once again down PSG’s right side, and his drive into the box invited a clumsy challenge from Joao Cancelo, as the referee pointed to the spot for a clear penalty. Then came the moment that mattered, and none other than Kylian Mbappé stepped up to dispatch confidently and put PSG in the driving seat to qualify for the semi-finals.

Wary of Barça’s first leg comeback, Enrique’s side wouldn’t want to let the hosts mount a counter-offensive, with the final 20 minutes coming under extreme tension. If the pressure valve was increasing, it would be quickly released with little time remaining on the clock as PSG broke through on the counter-attack and Kylian Mbappé finished at close range at the second bite of the cherry. A tie quickly finished off, and a semi-final against previous group opponents Borussia Dortmund awaits…

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN PLAYER RATINGS

Gianluigi Donnarumma, 4 – An improvement on his first leg performance, the Italian looked more confident and had little to do in terms of dramatic goal-mouth action. Yet, he admittedly could have done better to prevent Raphinha’s opener, but struck at close range at such pace made it difficult to keep out the back of the net. Some wobbly moments in the last quarter of normal time.

Nuno Mendes, 5 – The Portuguese defender played with plenty of intent and energy, but wasn’t as effective as he has been offensively. However, that could be attributed to blistering performances from both Dembélé and Ruiz on his habitual left side. He was outsmarted by Yamal for the opener but otherwise defended well against Barça and was effective in possession in overall play.

Lucas Hernández, 5 – He dealt with Lewandowski much much better than in the first leg, perhaps learning from mistakes made by both himself and Beraldo at the Parc des Princes. A solid if uninspiring performance from the France international.

Marquinhos, 5 – The Brazilian brought an element of calm needed to stage any potential comeback against this Barcelona side away from home. While he cut out mistakes which saw PSG exposed at this stage in the Champions League in the past, there were some key leadership qualities shown which were somewhat missing in the first leg. Vital block in the last ten minutes.

Achraf Hakimi, 5 – Hakimi became the Moroccan player with the most appearances in the Champions League tonight, and was solid enough defensively if a little uninspiring going forward. He was at fault for not properly tracking Raphinha for the opening goal, but seemed to rectify things on the defensive front form then onwards.

Fabiàn Ruiz, 6 – One of the best performances from the Spaniard on the European stage with PSG, set the pace and energy in midfield in and out of possession and was key in the first half to mount a counter-offensive after Barça’s opener.

Vitinha, 7 – A sensational performance from the Portugal midfielder, leading with dynamism on the ball and capped off with a sensational finish to level the tie on aggregate at a vital period of the second half.

Warren Zaïre-Emery, 5

Ousmane Dembélé, 7 – Another great performance form the France international, his goal came at a vital juncture in the tie, but Dembouz was terrorising Barça’s defence in usual fashion with his driving runs and tricky dribbling in the attacking half.

Kylian Mbappé, 5 – After a dismal showing in the first leg, things could only look up for the France captain. He started the game at No.9 and the first half saw a lot of the same: a lack of intensity and concentration saw minimum involvement in attacking play. Yet, he generally improved in the second half and made the difference where it mattered by converting a vital a penalty to put Les Parisiens ahead in the tie. His second came rather fortunately, but the Frenchman showed his killer touch to finish the tie off and send PSG to the semi-finals.

Bradley Barcola, 7 – One of the best performances in a PSG shirt for Barcola, who threatened all night long down the right side with his driving runs. He was involved for the sending off, as well as drawing the foul for PSG’s decisive penalty converted by Mbappé. The Frenchman was simply a joy to watch, providing the assist for Dembélé’s equaliser at a vital crossroads moment for PSG in the tie.

Others: Asensio, 5,

SELECTED BARCELONA PLAYER RATINGS

Lamine Yamal, 6

Jules Koundé, 5

Robert Lewandowski, 4

After a week’s worth of wait that felt like an eternity, the second-leg of Barcelona vs PSG is finally ready to kick-off at the Olympic Montjuic Stadium. The Catalans have a 2-3 advantage from the first-leg, and will be hoping to treat their fans to another win today.

There is one major change to the starting lineup that won at the Parc des Princes. With Sergi Roberto suspended, Xavi has opted to go for Pedri in midfield, starting alongside Frenkie de Jong and Ilkay Gundogan.

The attack remains unchanged. Robert Lewandowski leads the line after putting in an absolute masterclass shift in the first-leg.

Man of the Match from the game, Raphinha takes his spot as the left-winger, while Lamine Yamal has been given the onus to start as the right-winger once again.

Jules Kounde will likely deal with Kylian Mbappe’s threat from the right-back position, while Joao Cancelo retains his spot as the left-back.

Pau Cubarsi played 90 minutes against Cadiz on the weekend, but is unquestionably a part of the starting lineup for this game, taking his place as one of the centre-backs, alongside Ronald Araujo.

These two will have the onus of screening Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who was subpar in the first-leg.

Confirmed Barça XI: ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Cancelo; Gundogan, de Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha

The next Barcelona match is upon us! The Blaugrana decide their European fate in the second leg of their quarter-final tie against Paris Saint-Germain, and Xavi Hernández has called up the following 23 players for Tuesday’s big game:

Goalkeepers: 1. Marc-André ter Stegen, 13. Iñaki Peña, 26. Ander Astralaga

Defenders: 2. João Cancelo, 4. Ronald Araujo, 5. Iñigo Martínez, 17. Marcos Alonso, 23. Jules Kounde, 33. Pau Cubarsí, 39. Héctor Fort

Midfielders: 8. Pedri, 18. Oriol Romeu, 21. Frenkie de Jong, 22. Ilkay Gündogan, 30. Marc Casadó, 32. Fermín López

Xavi Hernandez is bracing himself for arguably the most important game of his Barcelona tenure as the Catalans take on Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals this evening.

As Barcelona approach this game, TNT Sports has released an interview with Xavi Hernandez, where he talks about the upcoming game against PSG along with Barcelona’s superb resurgence this year.

Xavi on Barça’s comeback

Barcelona are unbeaten since Xavi announced his desire to leave Camp Nou at the end of the season.

Talking about his amazing comeback, Xavi said, “I think the key is that we compete as a team. We have been a team for these 13 games and we cannot change now. So, this is the time to compete as a team, this is the time to show character.“

“I think we are in the best moment of the season but as you know in football, we never know what will happen. We are excited and ready to compete well. It gave us more confidence, higher morale, so we are in our best moments,” he added.

Ready for the PSG game?

Xavi went on to offer his thoughts on the PSG game tonight and how Barcelona must approach this encounter.

“We need to do the same thing we did in Paris. But it will be very difficult because Luis Enrique and PSG have a lot of tactical combinations,” he remarked.

Following a 3-2 win in the first leg, Barcelona only require a win this evening as they take on Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of the quarterfinal.

While the job has been much easier thanks to the triumph in the first leg, coach Xavi Hernandez cannot rule out any possibilities.

Should PSG secure a goal by one goal margin and the two teams stay level at extra time, the game might go to penalties.

Who are the most prolific penalty-takers for Barcelona?

In case the game does go into penalties, Barcelona have enough players who can keep calm and convert those spot kicks.

Robert Lewandowski is the undisputed choice for Barcelona when it comes to penalties. The Pole has taken 87 penalties throughout his career, converting 78 of them. This accounts for a success rate of 90%.

Ilkay Gundogan falls second in line. The German has taken 21 penalties, converting 17 of them. His success rate of 81% isn’t bad either. He has also taken two penalties with Barça, though he did miss one of them.