Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe (1st L) shoots to score during the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal 2nd Leg match between FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Barcelona, Spain, April 16, 2024. (Photo by Joan Gosa/Xinhua)
MADRID, April 17 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League on Tuesday night with a 4-1 defeat at home to Paris Saint-Germain, despite its impressive 3-2 win in Paris a week earlier.
Although Lamine Yamal set up Raphinha to give Barca an early lead on the night, everything went wrong just before the half hour when Ronald Araujo was sent off for bringing down Bradley Barcola on the edge of the penalty area, leaving his side to defend against a rival containing Kylian Mbappe and former Barca winger Ousmane Dembele for over an hour.
Barca coach Xavi Hernandez railed against match referee Istvan Kovacs after the final whistle.
"It was a disaster. The sending off changed everything. It affected the tie so much," said Xavi, who was also sent off for his complaints during the match.
But although the Barca coach is right in saying the sending off clearly affected the tie, but that doesn't mean it was the wrong decision, as Araujo was the last defender and made contact on Barcola, who was through on goal.
Barca midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, who won the Champions League last season with Manchester City, had a different opinion to his coach.
"This is the Champions League, it doesn't matter who the rival is, you can't get back into it if one of your players gets sent off. We felt we had things under control before the red card," he said.
"If it's a foul then it's a red card, but in those vital moments, you have to be certain you are going to get the ball. I'd rather concede a goal, because with a player less so early in the game, that kills you," the midfielder commented.
Xavi's decision to replace Yamal with Inigo Martinez also contributed to the defeat. Although he had to bring on a defender to replace Araujo, taking off Yamal was a big surprise, given his speed and dribble had set up Raphinha's goal.
Yamal had shown he was a threat to the PSG defense and the decision to take him off, robbed Barca on an element of surprise. Raphinha was excellent in both games against the French side, so Robert Lewandowski is the man who should have gone.
Although Lewandowski almost scored in the second half, the veteran forward has neither the pace, mobility or stamina of Yamal or Raphinha, who would have been more of a threat on the break for a side forced to defend.
Gundogan also criticized the lack of defending that allowed Vitinha to score from just outside of the area to make it 2-1 to Paris on the night.
"That was another mistake, we had to go out to stop him shooting, he was on his own. We have worked on that and the closest player had to close him down. It was a good goal, but it was unnecessary," he commented.
And Barca made a third error that contributed to their downfall, as Joao Cancelo launched himself into Dembele to commit the second half penalty that allowed Mbappe to overturn the tie.
Dembele was going nowhere, but Cancelo had a rush of blood and committed another expensive individual error and once Paris got in front there was no way a Barca side with 10 men was going to chase the game, especially without Yamal on the pitch.
Gundogan's words perhaps show why Xavi's reign at Barcelona will ultimately be considered a failure. Unless you learn from your mistakes, you don't improve. And if Xavi blames the referee for the defeat, he clearly hasn't learned. ■
FC Barcelona's Lamine Yamal (R) vies with Paris Saint-Germain's Bradley Barcola during the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal 2nd Leg match between FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Barcelona, Spain, April 16, 2024. (Photo by Joan Gosa/Xinhua)
Raphinha (C) of FC Barcelona vies with Lucas Hernandez (L) and Achraf Hakimi of Paris Saint-Germain during the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal 2nd Leg match between FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Barcelona, Spain, April 16, 2024. (Photo by Joan Gosa/Xinhua)
Paris Saint-Germain's Vitinha (2nd R) celebrates his goal during the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal 2nd Leg match between FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Barcelona, Spain, April 16, 2024. (Photo by Joan Gosa/Xinhua)
FC Barcelona's Lamine Yamal (L) vies with Paris Saint-Germain's Nuno Mendes during the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal 2nd Leg match between FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Barcelona, Spain, April 16, 2024. (Photo by Joan Gosa/Xinhua)
