Barcelona gave a great blow and beat PSG in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals

Barcelona defeated 3-2 Paris Saint-Germainin the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.

Christensenwho had entered the game a few moments earlier, scored with a header from a corner kick in the 77th minute. Before that, Raphinha had been the protagonist with a double (37, 62) to stop the push of Paris Saint-Germain who had taken the lead at the start of the second half with goals from Ousmane Dembelé (48) and the Portuguese Vitinha (51).

PSG now needs a comeback like the one they suffered in 2017 against Barça on the night of the famous 6-1.

That clash at the Montjuic Olympic Stadium will be played, as in the case of Paris, under strong security measures due to the recent threat from the group. jihadist Islamic State against the top European competition.

There are now 12 games in a row that Barça has not lost, precisely all since at the end of January, after a painful 5-3 defeat at home against Villarreal, Xavi announced by surprise that at the end of the current season he will leave the position.

On the other hand, the good streak ended for PSG, which had gone 27 games without losing, since a defeat in November against AC Milan.

The first important chances were for Barça: Raphinha saw Gianluigi Donnarumma narrowly prevent his shot in the 5th and then stop one of his attempts from outside the area (23rd). In between, defender Nuno Mendes took a header from Robert Lewandowski (21) under the sticks.

PSG's specific approaches to Marc-André Ter Stegen's domain were deactivated: Kylian Mbappé had his best chance in the 42nd minute, but his cross shot in the area was blocked by the young Pau Cubarsí, the new 17-year-old Barça pearl. In the second half, PSG came out furious and came back in a flash.

Ousmane Dembele, formerly of Barça, tied in the 48th minute when he received in the area and, surrounded by a cloud of rivals, sent a left-footed shot far from Ter Stegen's reach. Without time to digest it, Barça received the second in the 51st minute, that time when a pass between the lines by Fabián Ruiz left Vitinha in a perfect position to send a cross shot and beat the German goalkeeper low.

The euphoria at the Parc des Princes came to a screeching halt in the 62nd minute, when a long pass from Pedri, who had just entered the game, was finished off without letting the ball fall. Raphinha to make it 2-2, under the watchful eye of his compatriot Ronaldinho, former player of both teams and guest of honor in the box at the Parc des Princes.

A shot against Dembelé's post in the 75th minute could have changed everything, but in the 77th minute it was Barça who scored with that shot from the recently introduced Christensen in a corner, to take a valuable 3-2 from Paris. The PSG empire needs to counterattack in the second leg, where one of its Jedi, Achraf Hakimi (suspended on this occasion), will return in search of new hope in a tournament that has obsessed the club for years.

AFP

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