Barcelona vs PSG – Barcelona Collapses After Araujo’s Red Card

After their dramatic victory at Parc des Princes (2-3), Barcelona held the upper hand in this round, with a crucial one-goal advantage heading into the home leg at Olímpic Lluís Companys. However, football is an unpredictable sport, and one of the biggest traps a team can fall into when facing an opponent of PSG’s caliber is being complacent. Barcelona succumbed to this temptation, losing sight of the high stakes and missing their chance to continue their Champions League journey.

Starting Lineups

Barcelona’s starting lineup showed little change from the first leg, the only difference being Pedri in place of Sergi Roberto, who was suspended for this match because of the yellow card he got in the first game.

PSG saw the return of Hakimi, allowing Marquinhos to resume his central role. Interestingly, the French side had an attacking configuration with Mbappe in the center, Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola playing as wingers – a departure from the first leg where Mbappe was on the left flank.

It seems Luis Enrique chose to start with a variation of the configuration used in the second half of the first leg. Here, he introduced Barcola to free Dembele from the right flank, allowing Dembele to assume the number 9 role. This time, Barcola covers the left flank, with Mbappe as the number 9 and Dembele on the right wing.

Barcelona Lets PSG Dictate the Pace

Knowing the score was in their favor, Barcelona opted to let PSG take the reins, who dominated with 60% possession in the first few minutes and 64 passes into the opposition’s half, compared to Barcelona’s mere 17.

Barcelona defended as a unit, with their midfield and defensive lines close together, rotating efficiently as PSG switched flanks. Each time Mbappé touched the ball, Barcelona closed him down, using a 2-on-1 approach to neutralize the PSG star.

Their strategy paid off in the 11th minute. Barcelona recovered possession on the right, with Frenkie de Jong finding Lamine Yamal on the flank. Although PSG closed Yamal Down (this time), Barcelona won the ball back and sent it to their back line to being another construction.

Araujo surged forward and, seeing the compact formation in midfield, launched Yamal in the right wing. Nuno Mendes met the young player, but Yamal’s explosive run earned a powerful cross, which met a lightning-fast Raphinha who beat Hakimi to send the ball into the net, doubling Barcelona’s lead.

Barcelona has a Huge Lead, For Now…

PSG continued pressuring ter Stegen’s goal, maintaining possession throughout the first half. Barcelona, however, didn’t abandon their swift counterattacks whenever they sensed vulnerability in PSG’s forward positioning.

This is obvious in the first half statistics: Barcelona had 38 long passes, 23% of their total passes, while PSG relied more on a short passing game, with long passes representing only 10% of their total.

The hosts came very close to scoring again in the 20th minute, recovering the ball from Mbappé in PSG’s half and launching Raphinha on the left. He crossed into the box; Nuno Mendes cleared, but the ball found Lewandowski, whose powerful shot sailed over the crossbar. I think everyone in that stadium, or at home in front of the TV expected that ball to smash Donnarumma’s net.

Why Did Araujo Get a Red Card?

Barcelona’s fortunes took a turn for the worse in the 29th minute when Istvan Kovacs sent Araujo off.

In their build-up play, Barcelona played the ball back to their centre-backs. Araujo attempted a through ball to the right wing, but Nuno Mendes intercepted superbly, immediately launching Barcola. Since Barcola was pressing up high, he had a lot of space to sprint towards the goal, with no Barcelona defenders in his path.

Araujo caught up and attempted a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge, but raised his arm high, committing a foul. Since Barcola was in a clear goal-scoring position and Araujo was the last defender, Kovacs showed him a straight red card.

This major error would cost the Catalans dearly. For starters, Barcelona had a two-goal advantage – even if Barcola scored, the hosts still would have had the lead and an easier time defending with all 11 players.

Furthermore, Barcola would have had to beat ter Stegen, no easy feat given the excellent form the goalkeeper displayed throughout the match. Araujo bears complete responsibility for his dismissal and the entire sequence, as it stemmed from his misplaced pass at midfield.

Barcelona Tries to Adapt, but Dembele Launches PSG Towards the Semifinals

After Araujo’s dismissal, Xavi tried to adjust with a substitution in the 36th minute, replacing Lamine Yamal with Íñigo Martínez. This meant sacrificing some attacking prowess for a more defensive position.

It’s debatable whether sacrificing Yamal, given his excellent form and direct contribution to Barcelona’s goal, was the wisest choice. Perhaps a reconfiguration with the existing players, using de Jong as a central defender (an emergency role he has filled before), might have been worth trying out for a bit before committing to a change.

Barcelona began defending with two tight defensive lines in a 4-4-1 formation. PSG’s numerical superiority became obvious in the 40th minute. Both Barcola and Dembélé stayed wide, trying to take advantage of Barcelona’s compact shape. Vitinha found Barcola on the wing, who crossed to Mbappé. Although Mbappé missed the cross, it continued to Dembélé, who, from a difficult angle, executed a volley past ter Stegen, bringing PSG within one goal.

PSG Reclaims Lost Ground

Things went from bad to worse for Barcelona in the second half. Losing a player so early, combined with Dembélé’s equalizer, took a toll on their morale, something that we can see in their play during a 54th-minute corner for PSG. PSG played it short, the ball reaching Vitinha, who had an incredible amount of space outside the box. He took his time to place his shot for PSG’s second goal, bringing the aggregate score to 4-4.

PSG now had over 30 minutes to capitalize on their extra-man advantage to secure a semifinal spot.

Yet, Barcelona refused to surrender. Minutes later, a long pass to Pedri saw them reach the corner of the pitch. There, Pedri combined with Lewandowski, who managed to break free from the crowd and find Gundogan in the center of the box. Gundogan unleashed a powerful shot, but immense misfortune saw the ball slam against the post.

Immediately after this chance, Xavi was sent off for protesting a foul Kovacs called against Barcelona, dealing another blow to their morale.

Barcelona Crumbles

In the 59th minute, João Cancelo made a huge error, going in for a decisive tackle on Dembélé after a poor first touch. Kovacs awarded a penalty to PSG. Cancelo’s challenge was excessive, given Dembélé’s poor touch that had already slowed down his momentum and making him lose a tempo. Moreover he was not in a dangerous attacking position. Mbappé converted the penalty, giving PSG the lead.

Luis Enrique was far from relaxed – it was crucial for PSG to keep up the pressure and avoid complacency. Lewandowski’s shot in the 73rd minute, saved by Donnarumma, showed Barcelona could still push the match into extra time. However, that was their last shot of the game.

Mbappé ended the game in the 89th minute. On a counterattack, PSG bombarded ter Stegen’s goal. The keeper denied Mbappé’s fierce shot and Marco Asensio’s follow-up, but Mbappé managed to put the ball in the net on his second attempt, simultaneously securing PSG’s place in the Champions League Semifinals.

Conclusions

Few expected this outcome. Barcelona started with a one-goal lead earned in Parc des Princes but grew complacent, which PSG capitalized on. While anything could have happened, this dramatic match reminds us that in football, nothing is certain, and any result can be overturned.