A guarded goal at the price of rejection proved too high a price to pay Barcelona footballers who, after an excellent start in the battle for a place in the semi-finals, completely lost control over the course of the game in the second leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Paris Saint Germain grabbed the opportunity given to them with both hands, winning away with 4:1, which allowed them to make up for the loss in the first game in front of their spectators in the sum of two games. “I have a dream to win the Champions League for Paris!” emotions were given free rein Saint Germain leader Kylian Mbappe, whose two goals took the team to the semi-finals.
After an emotional 3-2 win in Paris, the Catalans got off to a brilliant start in the second leg at home, where 16-year-old Lamine Jamal found Brazilian Rafinha in front of the goal after a breakthrough in the penalty area.
Although Barcelona seemed to be in control, it turned upside down twenty minutes later when leading defender Ronald Araujo brought down Bradley Barcol on the edge of the penalty area and was sent off for a last-ditch offence. Soon after, home manager Xavi also lost his temper and was also sent to the stands, but Barcelona’s defense collapsed, which the visitors from Paris took full advantage of. Dembele and Vitinja leveled the score with two quick goals, but Saint Germain leader Mbappé sealed the victory for the Parisians with two goals in the last half hour.
“We deserved to play against PSG in equal positions,” Barcelona coach Xavi stood his ground – rejection in the given situation was an excessively harsh punishment. The former defended the judge Barcelona forward Thierry Henry, who emphasized on the CBS television channel that the referee was not to blame for the incident. “A violation is a violation, and that was the case there. Such mistakes cannot be made in the Champions League. If you make a mistake, you have to pay for it immediately. That is why it is so difficult to win this tournament, because you must not make even one such mistake on the way to it.”
Henri emphasized that it was not the fact that he was in the minority Barcelona let in four goals, but after that panic started in the defense.
Dortmund also reached the semi-finals Borussia, which, after losing 1:2 in Madrid in front of its own audience, did not protect the two-goal lead, but restored it within three minutes in the middle of the second half. The 4:2 victory made it possible to win 5:4 in the sum of two games. Two more semi-finalists were announced late Wednesday night in Manchester and Munich.
