Barcelona’s trip to Paris Saint-Germain for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16-game ended up in a disaster when they were comprehensively outplayed and beaten by the Parisians.
It was birthday boy Angel di Maria, who opened the scoring for the French side with a sublime freekick. And then rounded off his special day with another beautiful goal into Ter Stegen’s top corner to put his side 3-0 up.
In between these two goals, it was Julian Draxler who applied an emphatic finish to a quick PSG counter after Lionel Messi had lost the ball in midfield. Rounding off the scoring for the Parisian club was another birthday boy, Edinson Cavani who gave the finishing touches to a fine solo run and an even better pass from Thomas Meunier.
With the second leg to be played at Camp Nou, Luis Enrique's side now requires a comeback of unprecedented proportions in Champions League history having been put to the sword in the French capital.
Let’s take a look at how the players fared for the two sides.
#1 Paris Saint-Germain
Kevin Trapp: 7/10
He had the best seat in the stadium and could have even brought some popcorn to enjoy the way his team played. He did, however, make a few good clearances and interceptions.
Presnel Kimpembe: 8/10
The young defender was an absolute rock in defence as PSG never felt the absence of their captain in this game. He kept Suarez at bay and distributed well from the back.
Marquinhos: 8/10
Alongside Kimpembe, the Brazilian closed down the mighty MSN pretty effectively. He timed his tackles immaculately and won them fair and square. His distribution too was top notch.
Layvin Kurzawa: 7/10
He was solid in defence and did not allow either Lionel Messi or Sergi Roberto an inch of space to manoeuvre or even find a good cross into the box. However, he could have done better on the overlap.
Thomas Meunier: 8/10
The big Belgian was absolutely everywhere on the right flank. He won his ariel battles and attacked with much gusto; even going on a solo run before finding Cavani for PSG’s fourth. Although troubled a bit by Neymar, he escaped unscathed.
Blaise Matuidi: 7/10
He very much embodied the team on the night – full of running and energy. Matuidi was always available in space, free for a pass. The Frenchman covered a lot of ground and pressed well to keep the Barcelona midfield in check.
Marco Veratti: 8.5/10
The Italian ran the show for Parisians, spraying passes from deep and occasionally bombing forward as well. He set up Draxler’s goal but was unfortunately taken off with an injury scare.
Angel Di Maria: 9.5/10
Di Maria popped up everywhere in Barca’s defensive third and was a threat every time he was on the ball. He opened the scoring with a lovely free kick and made it three for the hosts with a beautiful curler into the top corner.
Julian Draxler: 8/10
He scored PSG’s second with a great finish and was full of energy on PSG’s right. Always looking to attack, he, though, was guilty of being selfish a few times.
Adrien Rabiot: 9/10
His passing was awesome, his tackling was great and he made a few penetrating runs which always caused problems for Barcelona. He, alongside Verratti, absolutely bossed the midfield against the likes of Busquets and Iniesta.
Edinson Cavani: 8/10
He scored PSG’s last and fourth goal of the night with an emphatic finish into Ter Stegen’s near post. His movements and physicality caused problems for Barca’s defence throughout the match.
Substitutes:
Lucas Moura: 6/10
The Brazilian came on for Di Maria but was not quite as effective as the Argentine. He did, however, see a good attempt blocked byJordi Alba, in what was his only major contribution in attack.
Christopher Nkunku: 5.5 /10
He came on for an injured Verratti and kept things simple and tidy. Not too flashy or risky, it was a mature showing from the youngster.
Javier Pastore: N/A
Barcelona
Marc-Andre ter Stegen: 6/10
The German mad a couple of excellent saves to save Barcelona further embarrassment. He could have, however, done better with PSG’s fourth as he allowed it to go in at his near post.
Sergi Roberto: 5.5/10
The midfielder turned full-back was the best Barcelona defender on the night. He dealt with most of the attacks coming down his way well enough.
Gerrard Pique: 4/10
The Spain international had a shocker of the game. Though many might argue that he was not provided adequate cover by his midfield, Pique could still have done a better job at keeping PSG away, especially for the fourth goal.
Samuel Umtiti: 4/10
The young defender, alongside his senior defensive partner, had a game to forget. It was his foul on Draxler which gave away the free kick from which Di Maria scored.
Jordi Alba: 5/10
Jordi Alba was quite overwhelmed by the forays coming down his side with both Angel Di Maria and Thomas Meunier having a field day on that side of the pitch. Attacking wise, he was not quite up there alongside his usual standards.
Sergio Busquets: 4.5/10
Del Bosque once said of Busquets, “You watch the game, you don't see Busquets. You watch Busquets, you see the whole game”. This game summed up the quote beautifully as Busquets was nowhere to be seen in the match and neither were Barcelona.
Andres Iniesta: 5/10
Having returned from injury just a few days ago, Iniesta did not have the best of the games. The Spaniard struggled to take control of the game and was too slow in defence in comparison to PSG’s swift counter attacks.
Andre Gomes: 4/10
Luis Enrique showed his trust in the young Portuguese again, and he, as has happened on too many occasions this season, did not quite live up to the expectation. He was caught on the ball quite often and did not offer much attacking wise to the game.
Lionel Messi: 4.5/10
Lionel Messi simply put, was poor on the night. He lost possession frequently and was at fault for PSG’s second goal, when he lost the ball in his own half, at the base of midfield. He did seem to have recovered a bit late on but it was too late.
Neymar Jr.: 6/10
He was the best Barca attacker on the night. However, with Messi and Suarez both off colour, he alone could not muster much but he did beat his man more than once and was looking dangerous on Barca’s right.
Luis Suarez: 4/10
Luis Suarez was anonymous for most of the match and this could be attested by the fact that he did not have a single shot on target in the entire game. He will want to forget the game very quickly.
Substitutes
Rafinha: 4.5/10
His introduction in place of Gomes did not affect the game as he was rarely seen involved in the game.
Ivan Rakitic: 6.5/10
Coming on for Iniesta, his introduction did spur Barcelona on as they looked more threatening with him on the pitch rather than on the bench.
