Led by a Raphinha of great evenings, FC Barcelona won against Paris Saint-Germain on their lawn (3-2) in the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League, this Wednesday April 10. In the other meeting of the evening, Atlético de Madrid controlled Borussia Dortmund (2-1), despite Sébastien Haller’s reduction in the score which maintains hope for the Germans.
Published on: 04/10/2024 – 11:00 p.m. Modified on: 04/10/2024 – 11:23 p.m.
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At the end of this 13th confrontation in the Champions League between the two clubs, the balanced results now lean in favor of the Barcelonans. At the end of a very rhythmic match where PSG overturned everything in two minutes, FC Barcelona finally won with a short header at the Parc des Princes (3-2). For its part, Atlético also left with victory against Dortmund (2-1), without however really being safe before the return match.
The Parisians immediately put pressure on the Blaugrana by confiscating the ball in the first minutes, notably thanks to high pressure carried out in the Catalan camp. Mbappé was quick to get a first chance from the outside of his foot in the area which flew quite wide of the target (5th). But in the process, the Parisians were caught behind by a counter-attack led by Raphinha and narrowly interrupted by a close-range exit from Donnarumma (6th). Lee Kang-in (7th) and Asensio (10th) also tried their luck, each blocked by an attentive Ter Stegen.
Kylian Mbappé once again stood out with a solo breakthrough on the left side, but he came up against his teammate in the French team, Jules Koundé (13th). Mendes then invited himself into the Barcelona area after several dribbles, and was narrowly stopped by the defenders (18th). The Portuguese also cleared a Barça goal ball on the line after a hazardous exit from Donnarumma, completely beaten by a header from Lewandowski (20th). The Italian goalkeeper quickly recovered by lying down to repel a long-range shot from Raphinha (23rd).
Jostled by the Spaniards for a few minutes, the PSG players finally sounded the revolt thanks to Mbappé, who slipped a good ball to Lee Kang-in to allow him to place a strike, parried by Ter Stegen (27th). Continuing the action, the Frenchman rushed to try to recover and collapsed in the area after a collision with Cancelo, without obtaining a penalty due to an offside position (28th). Raphinha, well served behind by Gündogan, then made PSG tremble with a shot in the area blocked by Marquinhos (34th). Untenable, the Brazilian opened the scoring just after with a curling shot, helped by a hazardous intervention from Donnarumma (37th, 0-1).
PSG failed to contain Raphinha
After gradually losing control of the match in the first period, the Parisians had a great start to the second act, overturning everything in their path in just two minutes. Dembélé first revived PSG by equalizing against his former club with a powerful strike into the top corner after a devastating hook (48th, 1-1). Vitinha immediately doubled the lead with a cross shot in the area to deceive the German goalkeeper (50th, 2-1). Taking advantage of the Parisian highlight, Barcola showed his speed to strike on the right side and find the crossbar after a save from Ter Stegen (55th).
Much less in control since returning from the locker room, the Barcelonars nevertheless managed to equalize thanks to a superb service from Pedri for Raphinha, who left in the area to score a double (62nd, 2-2). From a free kick, the Brazilian once again put Donnarumma into action with a shot on target but too axial (69th). João Félix also attempted a shot near the area, without managing to deceive the Parisian goalkeeper (73rd). Dembélé also came very close to the double by adjusting Ter Stegen with a cross shot which ended its course on the opposite post (75th).
Barely coming on, Christensen scored the third Catalan goal from a corner with a header from close range, shooting Donnarumma on his line (77th, 2-3). Fabian Ruiz (83rd) and Dembélé (87th) insisted on equalizing, without much success in front of goal. Despite several attempts in the final minutes, the Parisians finally lost for the first time since November and will have to complete a successful return match next week to reach the semi-finals. Barça remains undefeated for its 12th consecutive match in all competitions.
In Madrid, it was Atlético who took the advantage against Dortmund (2-1) before the second round next week. Rodrigo De Paul opened the scoring for the Colchoneros (4th, 1-0) before Samuel Lino increased their lead (32nd, 2-0) at the end of the first period. Borussia then woke up in the second half and was rewarded by Haller’s reduction in the score at the very end of the match (81st, 2-1). Just as for the Parisians against the Barcelonans, qualification is still well within the Germans’ reach and everything will be decided on April 16.
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