FC Barcelona defeated Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 in the first leg of their entertaining UEFA Champions League quarter-final.
UEFA Champions League
Result: Paris Saint-Germain 2-3 FC Barcelona
Date: 10 April 2024
Venue: Parc des Princes
Kylian Mbappe, Marco Asensio and Ousmane Dembele lined up in the PSG attack, while 16-year-old Lamine Yamal was given a start by Bluagrana coach Xavi Hernandez.After a relatively cagey opening, the first real opening of the game arrived on 20 minutes when Robert Lewandowski got on the end of a corner but saw his effort cleared off the line.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen was called into action at the other end, with the Barcelona shot-stopper producing an impressive save to keep out Lee Kang-In's powerful shot from distance.
The deadlock was broken ten minutes before the halftime break when Yamal's impressive cross was pushed into the path of Raphniha, who sent a first-time finish into the top corner.
However, PSG needed just three minutes to restore parity as Dembele did well to carve out some space in the box before rifling the ball into the roof of the net against his former side.
The turnaround was completed in the 51st minute when a well-worked passing move ended with Vitinha collecting a pass from Fabian Ruiz before firing into the far corner.
The lead did not last too long as Barcelona levelled matters nine minutes later when substitute Pedri delightfully picked out the run of Raphinha, who sent a first-time volley past Gianluigi Donnarruma.
With just under 15 minutes to play, the Catalan giants bagged the winning goal through defender Andreas Christensen, who took advantage of some poor marking and nodded home from a corner.
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