Barcelona defeated Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) 3-2 in a remarkable first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday.
Andreas Christensen came off the bench to head in the winning goal for Barcelona at the Parc des Princes in Paris, France.
Raphinha had earlier scored twice for the Catalans, slotting in the opener late in the first half and then volleying in an equaliser to make it 2-2 just after the hour mark.
In between, PSG turned the game around as they awoke from a poor first-half display by starting in electrifying fashion after the restart with two goals in six minutes, neither coming from Kylian Mbappe.
Ousmane Dembele struck against his old club, and Vitinha briefly put the French giants in front, only for Barcelona to recover in stunning fashion to take control of the tie.
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Christensen’s goal, which came just after he had been introduced as a substitute on his 28th birthday, ended PSG’s 27-game unbeaten run and gives Barca a lead to defend at home in the return next Tuesday.
Speaking after the game, Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez said: “I am very proud. It is a great victory against one of the best teams in the world, but we are only halfway there.
“PSG still have every chance on Tuesday, but we have a one-goal advantage and we will be playing at home.”
The second leg will be played at Montjuic, the Catalan club’s temporary home, rather than the Camp Nou, the scene of Barcelona’s incredible 6-1 win over PSG in 2017 and of a lethal Mbappe hat-trick in a 2021 meeting of the teams.
PSG manager Luis Enrique said: “We could have won this game.
“I am not saying the result is unfair but it came down to little details and we will work to ensure that in the return the little details go our way.”
The story of the game ended up partly being about Luis Enrique’s selection decisions – he was missing the banned Achraf Hakimi but also omitted teenage prodigy Warren Zaire-Emery and gave Marco Asensio a surprise start.
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