Barcelona have been knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain and now they only have the Copa del Rey and La Liga to look forward to.
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The Catalans had a mammoth of a task on their hands on Thursday night as they were trying to overturn a 4-1 defeat in the first leg. The French side ran riot at the Camp Nou and Barcelona had to score four goals at least to win.
It was huge ask for a team that is still in its transitional phase and many would have thought that the Catalans would not even try in the game. However, the doubters were wrong and Barcelona did try although they fell quite short of the target.
Ronald Koeman and his team had to walk away from the most prestigious club tournament with their heads bowed down as they were dominated by PSG over the two legs. Lionel Messi and the team showed a lot of heart but it was not enough to overturn the massive advantage that PSG had secured in the first leg.
A goal by the club captain was enough to draw the match with a score of 1-1 but that was about it. The French Champions played a passive game and did not let the Catalans break them down easily. Thus although it was a disappointing exit, it was a hard-fought game nonetheless.
Here are the five talking points from the very tightly contested match from last night
1) Barcelona showed real determination
Barcelona might not have won the game last night, but they played very well and showed a lot of heart. The Catalans were trailing 4-1 going into the fixture courtesy of a Kylian Mbappe hat-trick. However, they did not lose hope and went for the win. The Blaugrana were putting a lot of pressure and attacking from the first minute as well. They were not afraid to commit men forward as they needed four goals to go through.
The Catalans had 73% of possession and took 21 shots towards goal but could only manage the one super goal by Messi. They kept 10 shots on target but just could not get past Keylor Navas. PSG were content on sitting back and just defending their goal and over Barcelona dominated in the second leg but were unable to break down the French team’s iron defense.
2) A screamer and missed penalty
Lionel Messi is probably still the best player on the planet and yesterday he showed his class with his first goal. With a full brick wall defense, PSG were happy to sit back and defend. They were more than happy to let the Catalan side attack. It was hard to break down such a structure but nothing is impossible for the best player in the world. The 33-year-old shot an absolute bullet into the top left corner of the net from outside the box. The shot took Navas completely by surprise and the precision on it made it impossible for the former Real Madrid man to save it.
Thus when Messi got a penalty just in the nick of half-time, fans were expecting him to seal it. He could not beat Navas however, and that is where the scoring ended. Had he scored the penalty, Barcelona would have just needed two more in the second half and it would have been a great confidence booster. However, morales were in the second half and they let the game slip from their hands.
3) Two questionable penalty decisions by Anthony Taylor
The second leg was much less exciting from PSG’s end as the team had decided to defend in number and only play on counterattacks. The French Champions only had 27% possession all game and their only goal came from a rather debatable penalty. The ball was coming in from Sergino Dest‘s wing and it was a comfortable save for Marc Ter Stegen however, Clement Lenglet had tripped Mario Icarrdi unknowingly while trying to run into the box.
After a look at the VAR, Anthony Taylor deemed it as a punishable offense although Lenglet was clearly running into the box and it was not a deliberate foul on Icarrdi at all. The second controversy of the night came when Dest was hit by Navas on his face when the goalkeeper tried to collect the ball. His elbow hit Dest’s face and although it was unintentional, Taylor should have given the penalty as he had given Paris one as well. However, the referee decided that it was not a punishable offense and PSG got off scot-free. Had Barcelona gotten that penalty, the game could have ended differently.
4) Ousmane Dembele fails to take his chances
Barcelona had a lot of chances to go forward in the match and with the number of shots they took, they should have won the game. The team completely dominated the French giants, who were scared to leave their side of the pitch. Dembele who was playing upfront along with Messi got many good chances at the beginning of the first half and should have scored from at least one of those chances.
He himself went on a good run dribbling past a few players but most of his shots ended up not hitting the target. The Winger has to work on his finishing and the Catalans really need to find themselves a good striker next season. With a competent striker, they could have won the game last night but they were wasteful and ended up not doing much with their opportunities.
5) There is a lot of hope for the next season
Sure Barcelona were once again knocked out in one of the early rounds and sure they did get dominated in the first leg, however, in the second leg, the Catalans gave their best and played much better than PSG. The Blaugrana went after the win and they would have gotten it if their finishing was a bit better.
The two controversial penalties also played a role in taking the match away from the Spanish giants. Koeman has made a team capable enough to challenge some of the world’s greatest. He has managed to take a team in a transitional phase, toe to toe with one of the greatest teams in Europe. The performance was fantastic apart from the finish and the team still have the Copa del Rey and La Liga to look forward to. This team with some reinforcements could go on to have a great season next season.
How do you think Barcelona will fare next season?