Paris Saint-Germain beat Barcelona 4-0 at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday, Feb. 14. Here are all the highlights from the match.
Was this the night Paris Saint-Germain finally arrived among the European elite?
The French side were dominant in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Barcelona. They blitzed the Catalan club in the first half on the back of a relentless set of midfield performances from Adrien Rabiot, Blaise Matuidi and Marco Verratti.
The trio set the tone as PSG forced the visitors into a series of sloppy defensive mistakes early on. Matuidi was denied a clear run at goal by an alert Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Endinson Cavani’s touch let him down when he got in behind the defense before Unai Emery’s side eventually got the goal their dominance deserved.
Samuel Umtiti fouled Julian Draxler 20 yards out, and Angel Di Maria curled in beautifully from the ensuing free-kick. PSG dropped off after that, but looked no less dangerous on the counter than they had pressing Barca high up the pitch in the opening exchanges.
The storyline before the match centered on an injury to PSG captain and center-back Thiago Silva, and the damage Barca’s famed front three would do to Silva’s replacement, the 21-year-old Presnel Kimpembe.
In the end, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar barely had a touch of the ball between them. Neymar showed flashes of his talent on the dribble, but he was always too isolated to do any damage, and as Barca pushed forward in search of an equalizer, PSG were ruthless on the break. They doubled their lead in the 40th minute after Julian Draxler finished a move that started with one of several Messi giveaways in midfield.
Any hope of a Barca comeback ended shortly after halftime, when Di Maria got his second of the match with a wonderful curling effort into the top left corner. It was an excellent finish, but the lack of pressure on a player of Di Maria’s caliber will have infuriated Barca manager Luis Enrique.
Barca lacked intensity off the ball all evening, and when Cavani made it four in the 72nd minute, it was fully deserved. You can never fully count out Barca, not while they have MSN upfront, but this was as comprehensive a beating as they’ve received since they were dumped out of this competition by Bayern Munich in 2012-13.
If PSG approach the same level in the second leg as they did at the Parc des Princes Tuesday evening, they could easily outdo the 7-0 aggregate scoreline Bayern managed against Barca in 2013. Based on this performance, they’d deserve it.
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Highlights
"Birthday boy Angel Di Maria spreads the love on #Valentines Day with this free kick goal vs Barcelona. 💙💙 #UCL https://t.co/jd7y1BqG8h— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) February 14, 2017"
"Julian Draxler this season:0 goals in 14 matches for Wolfsburg.5 goals in 9 matches for PSG. 😳 #PSGFCB #UCL https://t.co/ETnEg8z6QC— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) February 14, 2017"
"Have another look at Di Maria’s second goal. 😍😍😍 https://t.co/fse0aXPmS5— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) February 14, 2017"
"Players born on February 14th – 3Barcelona – 0#PSGFCB #UCL https://t.co/JJOuvrp205— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) February 14, 2017"
The second leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie between PSG and Barcelona takes place at the Camp Nou on March 8.