AFCON 2025
Reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain showed dexterity and resilence as they back from a goal down to beat rivals Barcelona away from home.
Despite missing four key players: Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, captain of the side, Marquinhos and Desire Doue, Luis Enrique’s men put up a spirited second half performance to continue their dominance over the Catalan giants.
Ferran Torres put Barcelona ahead 19 minutes into the match as he got to the end of a brilliant pass from Marcus Rashford.
Barcelona dominated the tie for a brief period as the visitors sorted out their defense to prevent a second.
A few minutes later, Nuno Mendes’ croos-field run sliced through Barcelona’s lines of defense as the Portuguese full back placed a perfect pass for 19-year-old Senny Mayulu to restore parity.
The first half ended with the visitors heading to the break the better side after Mayulu’s equalizer.
Barcelona, despite making changes in the second half surprisingly switched off as Vitinha helped PSG control the proceedings.
Wojciech Szczesny had quite a busy opening minutes into the second half as the Polish goalkeeper denied Barcola and Mbaye from increasing the lead.
Barcelona’s defensive high line was their undoing as Achraf Hakimi found substitute Goncalo Ramos with a brilliant pass late in the game, the Portuguese striker narrowly beat the offside trap as he bagged the winner in the 90th minute.
PSG becomes the first team to beat Barcelona away from three times in a row in an European competition.
Meanwhile, Manchester City dropped points away at Monaco as the tie ended in a 2-2 draw. Eric Dier’s penalty in the 90th minute secured a vital point for the home side.
Bukayo Saka scored in added time of regulation time as Arsenal secured three points and a clean sheet in a 2-0 win over Olympiacos at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.
