Spectacle in Paris, advantage for Ilkay Gündogan and Marc-Andre ter Stegen: The two German national players from FC Barcelona can hope more than ever to reach the semi-finals in the Champions League. After the furious 3:2 (1:0) in an intense quarter-final first leg at Paris St. Germain with striker Kylian Mbappe, Barça now has the best chance of reaching the next round, the decision will be made next Tuesday in Barcelona.
Double packers Raphinha (37th/62nd) and Andreas Christensen (77th) scored for Barça in the Parc des Princes, the interim lead thanks to goals from Ousmane Dembele (48th) and Vitinha (51st) was not enough for Paris. The Catalans, who once won the title with Lionel Messi in 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015, were last in the semi-finals of the premier class in 2019. Chances on both sides, thrilling duels, lots of speed – Paris and Barcelona gave each other nothing, the fans saw a high-class game.
Barca coach Xavi called two players under 18 into the starting line-up: Lamine Yamal (16) and Pau Cubarsi (17). He was rewarded for it. The duo initiated Raphinha’s opening goal with strong passes. In Paris, Mbappe and the former Bundesliga professional Dembele repeatedly resorted to their dreaded dribbling, but it was only in the second half that they were successful – Dembele hit the equalizer with a powerful shot under the crossbar.
Coach Luis Enrique’s half-time changes worked against his former club, Vitinha took the lead, Bradley Barcola also hit the crossbar (55th) and Dembele (75th) hit the post. But Barcelona bit their way back into the game, Pedri fed Raphinha with a magic pass for his second goal. And after Gündogan’s corner, Christensen marked the end of a spectacular game.
But anything can still happen between the two teams – that’s what the round of 16 in 2017 shows. Back then, Paris won the first leg 4-0, but in the end Barça went even further after a wild 6-1 in the second leg. The game went down in Catalonia as “La Remontada” (The Return).