:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mentormedier/SB55FDC3HXX7QGOE4YCU2Y3RNY.jpg "Magical minutes and dream goals – the substitutes central when Barcelona beat PSG 3-2 – Dagsavisen")
The decision was made a quarter of an hour before the end. Centre-back Christensen needed just one touch to fire the Catalans into the lead after being substituted just a minute earlier.
Before that, Raphinha had scored twice for Barcelona, while Ousmane Dembélé and Vitinha netted for the hosts in what turned out to be a game of several turnovers. The return leg will be played in Barcelona next Tuesday.
Dembélé played for Barcelona for six years from 2017 to 2023, but never reached his full potential at the club due to many injury problems. The 26-year-old played a total of 185 games for the Catalans.
Barcelona have struggled for several years to get far in the Champions League and have played in the semi-finals in just one of the last eight editions. The Spaniards won their last Champions League title in 2015 with victory over Juventus in the final and have a total of five tournament triumphs.
PSG’s only Champions League final was in 2020 when they lost to Bayern Munich.
PSG controlled much of the field play at the start, and Dembélé was active out on his right wing.
But Barcelona were not harmless, and after seven minutes they could have had a dream start when Raphinha was on his way through. However, PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was alert and made a save just before the Brazilian got to an open goal.
After 20 minutes, Robert Lewandowski got a header on goal after Donnarumma missed the box, but Nuno Mendes looked on the line and got the ball away.
Turned the game around
Gradually, Barcelona got more into the game, and after 37 minutes they got a result when the 16-year-old comet Lamine Yamal started by hitting a great cross with the outside of his left foot. Donnarumma came out and disturbed Lewandowski, but the clearance was not perfect at the same time, and the return was awaited by Raphinha, who had no problems putting the ball in the net.
The position held until the break, but not much longer than that. Three minutes after the break, Dembélé equalized with a rocket of a shot. The winger tricked Frenkie de Jong with a feint and gained the space he needed before hammering the ball into the roof of the net.
The half-time talk by PSG coach Luis Enrique, who also has a past in Barcelona, seemed to wake up the team ahead of the 2nd half, because just three minutes after the equaliser, they took the lead. Fabián Ruiz played Vitinha through in the box, and with a great shot he tricked the ball past visiting goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen and into the goal.
Substitutes
With PSG in full control of the pitch, Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez countered by fielding midfield general Pedri. It paid off immediately when Raphinha equalized with a dream goal after an hour of play.
Substitute Pedri found the winger with an exquisite laced pass across the entire PSG defense and eventually Raphinha got the outside of his foot on the ball in what was a mix between shot and cushion. The ball rolled into the goal behind an outstretched Donnarumma.
The match continued to fluctuate afterwards, and a quarter of an hour before the end, Dembélé had a great opportunity, but the shot hit the post and went wide. A few minutes later, a new Barcelona substitute was to make himself count.
(©NTB)