Paris Saint-Germain 1-3 Barcelona: Five Talking Points

Barcelona virtually ensured a place in the last four of this season’s Champions League as they thumped a subdued PSG 3-1 at Parc de Princes on a night that was lit up by the brilliance of Luis Suarez. The visitors’ high pressing right from the start threw the French champions into a tizzy and they succumbed to the pressure as early as 18th minute when Lionel Messi fed Neymar from the edge of the area, and the latter slotted home a sublime left-footed effort to give the Catalans an early lead.In-form striker Luis Suarez then doubled the lead midway in the second half with a superb solo goal and capped off an amazing evening in Paris when he blasted a shot into the top right corner to put the tie effectively beyond PSG’s clasp. Although the home team pulled one back after Van der Wiel’s effort deflected off Jeremy Mathieu’s foot, it came as a mere consolation as the damage had already been done.Here are the major talking points from the game.

#1 Barcelona stifles Laurent Blanc\'s PSG

It is the habit of FC Barcelona to keep as much possession as possible. It has been the drill for a long time now. No matter who is at the control deck, Barca’s philosophy hasn’t changed and probably never will. So seeing them executing it here at Parc de Princes was no big deal.

Their possession allowed them to take control of the ball for a large chunk of the game and dictated the terms to the hosts who, as a result, had very few chances. Although the ploy isn't something the French champs are used to seeing against them, particularly in their own backyard, manager Laurent Blanc clearly knew that was coming and allowed the visitors to have the ball and hit them on the break.

It was a brave move by the Frenchman, but it failed to yield dividends as Barcelona proved to be too strong.

#2 No Zlatan, no party as Cavani fails to deliver

With PSG’s biggest goal threat Zlatan Ibrahimovic serving his one match suspension, the goalscoring mantle fell on the shoulders of their Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani and the 28-year old failed. Miserably. The former Napoli man is widely considered as one of the most lethal forwards in the world but has time and again, flattered to deceive when it matters the most.

Having expressed his displeasure at playing second fiddle to the Swedish striker, his absence came as a golden chance for him to play in the role he so merrily cherishes – as a No.9. But looking at the performance he put up last evening, he hardly did justice to his role.

Cavani was effectively boxed in by a stoic Barcelona defence and, although he did have chances to score, his profligate finishing kept him from doing so. You only get limited opportunities against teams like Barcelona and he failed to make them count.

#3 Iniesta no longer the driving force for Barcelona

Andres Iniesta has been one of the most pivotal figures in Barcelona and Spain’s astronomical success in the past and certainly one of the best of his generation. Unfortunately, over the last 18 months, Iniesta has gone off the boil and is no longer a key player in attack compared to his heydays a few years ago.

He may be only 31 and the Spaniard may have few more years of football left in his legs, but he may not be able to have the same kind of influence. Iniesta is waning. And in Luis Enrique’s setup where tiki-taka has been replaced by a more direct approach, he doesn’t quite have the same impact as he did under Pep Guardiola, Tito Vilanova and Tata Martino.

It was clear in this game as well. Even before he succumbed to the injury, the Barca stalwart jostled to match the pace and athleticism of PSG midfielders and had no substantial impact on the game. Iniesta is now a mere shadow of his former self (he hasn’t scored or assisted a goal in more than a year) and with time, may see his importance to his side, fizzle out completely.

#4 PSG are still not ready to dominate Europe

They may be a dominant force in France, they may boast an embarrassing riches of stars in their ranks but PSG, sadly, aren’t amongst Europe’s group of elite teams yet. They fully deserved their win over Chelsea in the last round, and they're comfortably the best side in France. But Barcelona showed them, in a very resounding fashion, that despite all their success and all their talent, PSG haven't cracked that upper crust of Europe’s elite yet.

Les Parisians, despite boasting some of the world’s most eminent names, have failed to impress in Europe’s grandest stage and for the third year running, are on the cusp of getting knocked out in the quarter-finals. Considering the quality and depth of the squad, PSG may ultimately join teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich on top of Europe's footballing pyramid.

But they have a long way to go to reachthe summit.

#5 Luis Suarez hitting top gear at the right time

Perhaps, the best player on the field was none other than the maverick Luis Suarez, who stole the limelight with two brilliantly taken goals. His first of the night was a superb solo effort, scuttling past four PSG defenders to nudge the ball from close range. The second was simply sublime; he latched on to a pass from Javier Mascherano, ran at David Luiz, nutmegged the Brazilian and unleashed a curling effort that crashed straight into the top corner.

The former Liverpool man endured a mediocre start to life in Catalunya on his return from a 4-month long ban but with time, has found his feet again and is once again firing on all cylinders. He single-handedly saw off Manchester City in the previous round and was at it again here in Paris.

Suarez was absolutely menacing throughout the game and the PSG defenders had a harrowing time in handling him. Strength, style, trickery, pace – Suarez demonstrated his every attribute to the fullest and registered his best game in Barca colours till date.

He has now scored 11 times in his last 11 games. Clearly, the beast of his Liverpool heydays is back again.