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It has been a crazy night in the Champions League football. FC Barcelona, winning the first leg by a 3-2 margin, welcomed PSG at their home ground to play the second leg. Despite having an early lead, Barcelona failed to win the match as PSG destroyed them following Araujo’s controversial red card.
Kylian Mbappe scored a brace, while former Barca player Ousmane Dembele also scored a goal to register PSG’s 1-4 win over Barcelona. With an aggregate of 4-6, Paris Saint Germain booked their place in the semifinal of the Champions League. Meanwhile, Barcelona have ended their journey from the quarterfinal, and they are yet to play in the semi since the 2018-2019 season.
As It Happened
Barcelona welcomed PSG last night at Estadi Olimpic following their first-leg win. Barcelona only needed to avoid the defeat, while PSG had to win this match with a 2-goal margin.
As the home side, Barcelona started brilliantly and got an early lead over PSG. Raphinha, who scored a brace in the first leg, gave Barcelona an early lead last night with a clever goal. After this goal, Barcelona had a 4-2 aggregate, and everything looked good for them. But the scenario started changing when defender Ronald Araujo a straight received a red card in the 29th minute due to his foul on Bradley Barcola.
PSG took that advantage and created tremendous pressure on Barcelona. The French club then didn’t take much time to find the equalizer. In the 40th minute, former Barcelona player Ousmane Dembele leveled the scoreline with a brilliant goal.
Coming back from the break, Paris Saint Germain became more aggressive on 10-man’s Barcelona. PSG first took the lead in the 55th minute when Vitinha beat Ter Stegan to find the net, leading them to find the equalizer on the aggregate (4-4).
Barcelona were still alive after conceding two goals. But Kylian Mbappe killed the game in the remaining minutes. They were awarded a penalty kick when Cancelo fouled Dembele in the 60th minute inside the box, from where Kylian Mbappe successfully scored a goal to make the scoreline 3-1.
The French attacker completed his brace just before the full-time whistle, as his powerful shot beat Ter Stegan to find the back of the net. In the end, Paris Saint Germain won the second leg by a 4-1 margin and knocked out Barcelona on a 4-6 aggregate.
Xavi’s Reaction
Barca boss Xavi Hernandez believes the red card on Araujo changed the momentum for Barcelona. The manager doesn’t think it should be a red card. “That incident changed the whole tie, for me it was excessive to bring out a red card. A whole season’s work came to nothing because of a refereeing decision. But I think we have had a highly dignified Champions League,” Xavi said in the post-match press conference.
