Paris Saint-Germain defeated Barcelona 4-2 in an entertaining UEFA Champions League encounter on Tuesday, handing the Spanish side their first defeat of the season after a six-goal thriller at the Parc des Princes.
The reigning European champions prevailed in a match featuring 40 attempts on goal, with both sides displaying attacking quality in a contest that could rank among the most exciting games of the campaign.
Desire Doue opened the scoring for PSG in the 38th minute after capitalising on an error by Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal.
However, the visitors responded seven minutes into the second half through youngster Xavi Espart, who restored parity.
PSG regained the advantage in the 72nd minute when Lucas Hernandez powered home a header from a set-piece.
Barcelona responded again through Yamal, who scored from a tight angle in the 79th minute to make it 2-2.
The hosts struck back almost immediately, with Vitinha finding the net from the edge of the box two minutes later to put PSG ahead for the third time.
Fabian Ruiz then sealed the victory in the 86th minute, taking advantage of Barcelona’s fading energy to complete the scoring.
The defeat ended Barcelona’s unbeaten start to the season after 12 matches and came at an unfortunate time for the LaLiga leaders, who are preparing to face rivals Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the campaign on Sunday.
Barcelona also suffered injury setbacks during the encounter.
Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele was forced off within the opening 20 minutes with a suspected hamstring problem, while Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was helped off the pitch in the second half after sustaining a knock.
Barcelona midfielder Dani Olmo was also substituted in the first half, adding to the club’s existing injury concerns ahead of their crucial domestic fixture.
Speaking after the match, Barcelona forward Anthony Gordon admitted that PSG had been the better side on the night.
“I think it was quite predictable that it was going to be high-scoring and a good spectacle for people to watch. I was hoping we would come out on the right side of that, but unfortunately we didn’t.
“They deserved it. They were the better team and had the better moments with real quality. Athletically, they were able to sustain the pressure and intensity for longer than we were. They’ve been the team to beat for two years and tonight they gave a great example as to why.
“I think we can take great positives because we played well. It was a competitive spectacle. We’ve still got work to do and that’s a good position to be in. They’ve been the team to beat for two years. We need to do enough work, analyse the game and try and become that.”
