Champions League Three reds, five goals
PSG overruns Barcelona, coach Xavi attacks the referee
As of: 12:24 a.m. | Reading time: 2 minutes
Kylian Mbappé scored two goals in Barcelona
Those: AP/Emilio Morenatti
Barcelona won the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at Paris-Saint-Germain 3-2. But that wasn’t enough. In their own stadium, the Spaniards came under attack against Mbappé & Co., including three sendings off.
Three red cards, spectacular goals and a comeback from Paris Saint-Germain that was hardly thought possible: superstar Kylian Mbappé led the French champions to the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in three years and is now challenging BVB again. PSG won – also thanks to a good 60 minutes of superiority – at FC Barcelona 4:1 (1:1) and thus made up for the 2:3 from the first leg.
This means that the dream of the title is over for the two German national players Marc-André ter Stegen and Ilkay Gündogan in the Barça jersey.
After Raphinha conceded an early goal, ex-Dortmunder Ousmane Dembélé (40th), Vitinha (54th) and Mbappé twice (61st/penalty and 89th) turned the game around. However, the comeback was helped by an early red card against Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo after an emergency stop (29′).
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With great annoyance, Barça coach Xavi blamed the Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs for the Champions League knockout. “It’s a pity. Our Champions League is over because of the referee’s mistakes. I told the referee he was a disaster. That’s the reality,” said the former Spanish world and European champion after the game.
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The sending off changed the whole game, said the coach. Xavi was so angry during the game that he kicked away a TV camera frame and had to vacate the coaching area. Later, one of his assistants also saw the red card.
PSG will now face Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals, both teams having already played against each other in the group stage. The French are looking forward to their first final since 2020, when they lost 1-0 against FC Bayern under Thomas Tuchel.
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Paris’ striker Mbappé can still hope for an international title at the end of his seven-year era in the PSG jersey. The 2018 World Cup winner is expected to move to Barça rivals Real Madrid in the summer.
But that wasn’t enough: Coach Xavi and an assistant from the Catalans also had to vacate their places in the second half because they were annoyed with the Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs.