Tonight PSG are taking on Barcelona in the second leg in the Last 16 of the Champions League. In the first leg Barcelona got destroyed by Kylian Mbappé who scored a hat trick at the Nou Camp.
Barcelona has only made one change to the team that got annihilated in the first leg with Óscar Mingueza replacing Gerard Piqué. Since the first leg defeat Barcelona has won four out of their last five games, including a comeback in the Copa Del Rey second leg against Sevilla. Barcelona will be relying on their front three of Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembélé to get their team back in this tie as they need to score at least four goals if they are going to progress.
PSG has only made one change to the team that won the reverse fixture at Camp Nou. Moise Kean has been replaced by Julian Draxler. This season has been harder for PSG than normal as they are not in first place in Ligue 1. However their first leg victory at the Camp Nou will bring the French side some added confidence.
Barcelona will be looking back to 2016 when they overturned a 4-0 deficit in the first leg when they defeated PSG in the second leg 6-1 and progressed to the quarter finals. On that day Luis Suárez, an Layvin Kurzawa own goal, Lionel Messi, a Neymar brace and Sergi Roberto scored the goals that got their side through to the quarter finals that season. PSG will be focused tonight on not letting history repeat itself.
Both sides will be coming out soon, Barcelona will be looking for a quick fire start if they have a chance in qualifying into the next round. If PSG are able to score two goals Barcelona will need to score six goals if they are going to progress.
KICK OFF: Barcelona has started the game in Paris
3rd min: PSG had the first chance of the game from a corner, captain, Marquinhos, won a header in the Barcelona penalty area but couldn’t direct the ball towards the Barcelona goal.
5th min: Barcelona was able to get the ball around the PSG penalty area in the last few minutes but haven’t been able to get a clear shot on goal, but good early signs from PSG so far in the game.
8th min: YELLOW CARD FOR PSG: Kurzawa picks up the first yellow card of the game as he takes down Dembélé outside the PSG penalty area.
9th min: Messi’s free kick from Kurzawa’s foul just goes over the crossbar. Good start from Barcelona putting PSG under some early pressure.
10th min: First clear cut chance for PSG in the game as Dembélé had a chance to score a volley in the penalty area but didn’t strike the ball cleanly. PSG have given away a few early chances which potentially will give Barcelona a chance back into the game.
12th min: Another chance for Dembélé as he cut inside and was able to get a shot off but missed the target. Dembélé is looking dangerous in the early stages of this game.
16th min: Mbappe was able to get his first shot on goal but it went straight to Ter Stegen in the PSG goal.
19th min: Good save from Keylor Navas in the PSG goal stopping Dembélé scoring for Barcelona with a good save low down to his right.
23rd min: BARCELONA HIT THE CROSSBAR! Dest did well on the right hand side getting in on goal and his shot fired against the crossbar. So close for Barcelona. Great save from Navas to push the ball onto the bar.
24th min: Another chance for Barcelona as Dembélé put in a driven pass across the penalty area to Messi but he couldn’t reach the ball. Barcelona are getting close to scoring their first goal in the game.
25th min: YELLOW CARD FOR BARCELONA. Óscar Mingueza has picked up a yellow card for pulling the shirt off Mbappe.
29th min: PENALTY TO PSG! The home side wins a penalty thanks to VAR, Icardi goes down in the penalty area after getting brushed by Lenglet in the penalty area. Lenglet picks up a yellow card for the foul.
31st min: GOAL FOR PSG. Mbappe buries the penalty as his side goes 1-0 up on the night and 5-1 up on aggregate. Brilliant strike as Mbappe sends the keeper the wrong way as the ball goes into the top corner. Doesn’t change much for Barcelona as they need to score four goals still even though PSG have scored.
34th min: Another huge chance for Dembélé as he was through on goal thanks to a good pass from Griezmann but again the winger doesn’t strike the ball cleanly.
35th min: Substitution for Barcelona. Óscar Mingueza is off for Junior Firpo.
37th min: GOAL FOR BARCELONA. What a goal from Messi. That’s exactly what Barcelona needed as they are back in the tie thanks to their captain. Messi was able to pick the ball up outside the penalty area and fired the ball into the top left corner.
38th min: YELLOW CARD FOR BARCELONA: Frenkie De Jong gets booked after Barcelona has a penalty appeal turned down. PSG looked shell shocked after the Messi goal.
41st min: Sergio Busquets forces a good save from Navas as he received the ball from Dembélé. The Spanish midfielder took the shot first time but Navas was able to react quickly to make the save.
45th min: PENALTY TO BARCELONA! Kurzawa gives away a penalty as he catches Griezmann inside the penalty and the referee points to the spot.
48th min: NAVAS SAVES THE PENALTY! Great save from Navas saving the penalty from Messi with his legs as the ball goes onto the bar.
HALF TIME. Huge half in the game as Barcelona has completely dominated the game but has only scored one goal. Huge moment just before half time as Messi misses a huge penalty which means the Spanish side still need to score three goals if they are going to have any chance in qualifying for the next round. Messi was able to score an absolute screamer in the first half to counter Mbappe’s penalty.
In the other game tonight in the Champions League Liverpool are drawing 0-0 to RB Leipzig. The English side are 2-0 up on aggregate and look likely to go through.
Substitution for PSG. Kurzawa off for Abdou Diallo.
SECOND HALF KICKS OFF. PSG start the second half.
48th min: PSG has looked better in the second half of this game as they are putting Barcelona under pressure early in the second half.
50th min: TWO YELLOWS CARD FOR PSG. Gueye has picked up a yellow card early in the second half bring down Griezmann. Parades picked up one for arguing the decision. This means Parades will miss the next game if PSG progress.
54th min: Barcelona will need to score soon if they have a chance in progressing further in the competition.
59th min: Substitutions for PSG. Draxler and Gueye is off for Angel Di Maria and Danilo Pereira.
61st min: Great defending from Marquinhos stopping Messi from scoring just outside the six yard box. The PSG captain denying Barcelona scoring a second goal tonight.
65th min: PSG have done well in not giving many chances away in the second half. Barcelona will be getting frustrated with how things in the second half have gone.
66th min: Substitution for Barcelona. Dest is off for Francisco Trincão.
69th min: Great save from Navas following a corner. Busquets did well to get a shot on goal with a header but Navas did well to react and make the save. Time is running out for Barcelona, they need to score soon…
71st min: Alba had a huge chance for Barcelona after receiving the ball from a cross on the right side of the pitch. The Spanish left back couldn’t get a clean shot on goal and messed up the chance for his team.
74th min: Another chance goes to Dembélé who couldn’t get on the end of a cross from Alba. The Frenchman has had a lot of opportunities tonight but hasn’t been able to score.
77th min: Substitution for PSG. Alessandro Florenzi comes off for Colin Dagba.
79th min: Substitutions for Barcelona. Busquets, Dembélé and Pedri come off for Miralem Pjanić, Martin Braithwaite and Ilaix Moriba.
83rd min: PSG had a chance from a counter attack. Icardi was able to get a shot off inside the penalty area but couldn’t get it anywhere near the Barcelona goal.
84th min: Substitution for PSG. Veratti comes off for Rafinha.
85th min: Barcelona has failed to score another opportunity to get back into this game. This chance fell to Griezmann inside who’s shot went miles over the crossbar. Barcelona have wasted too many chances in this game which means they will fail to reach the quarter finals for the first time since 2007.
89th min: Icardi has picked up a yellow card for pulling the shirt off De Jong.
90th min: Mbappe hits the crossbar! The young striker was through on goal getting past the Barcelona defence. However he didn’t show his usual composure to finish the opportunity.
90th min: Three minutes of added time as PSG are going through into the next round of the Champions League.
FULL TIME IN PARIS! PSG KNOCKOUT BARCELONA!
PSG won the last 16 tie 5-2 after drawing tonights game 1-1. Mbappe was the star of the tie as the Frenchman scored four goals across the two games. A huge moment in the tie was Messi missing the penalty just before half time in the second leg.
If Barcelona was able to have an extra goal just before half time PSG would have been done under a lot of pressure. However, Messi missing the penalty would have been very deflating on his teammates. In the second half PSG did well in limiting the amount of chances Barcelona had in the second half.
With one less tournament to worry over, Barcelona will now be focusing on domestic competitions and hoping they can win La Liga and the Copa Del Rey.
PSG on the other hand, will use this win to push on in Ligue 1 as well as be wanting to win the Champions League for the first time in their history after narrowly falling short against Bayern Munich in last years’ final.
