“Barça will try again. We have had a very worthy Champions League, remarkable I would say,” lamented Xavi Hernández, after the defeat against PSG in Montjuïc (2-4), after wasting the advantage that the team had gained in Paris (2-3). A triumph that had changed the mood of the Barça fans, distanced from the team since their move to the magical mountain, detached from a team lost in the League. “We were convinced that we could pass,” said De Jong. And Ter Stegen joined in: “This defeat hurts a lot, but I am proud of the team.” The fans, in a new mood, received Barça with a party of red and blue flares that covered the Barça bus and even clouded the vision of some clueless madmen who mistook the bus of Xavi’s boys for that of Luis Enrique. They threw objects.
1
Ter Stegen, Cancelo (João Félix, min. 82), Pau Cubarsí, Koundé, Ronald Araújo, Frenkie De Jong (Fermín López, min. 82), Pedri (Ferrán Torres, min. 61), Gündogan, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Lewandowski
4
Gianluigi Donnarumma, Lucas, Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes, Marquinhos, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Fabián (Marco Asensio, min. 76), Vitor Ferreira, Ousmane Dembélé (Randal Kolo Muani, min. 88), Kylian Mbappe and Bradley Barcola (Lee Kang-In, min.
Goals 1-0 min. 12: Raphinha. 1-1 min. 39: Ousmane Dembélé. 1-2 min. 54: Vitor Ferreira. 1-3 min. 60: Kylian Mbappe. 1-4 min. 89: Kylian Mbappe.
Referee István Kovács
Yellow cards Kylian Mbappe (min. 39), Fabián (min. 45), Lewandowski (min. 50), Marquinhos (min. 62), Gündogan (min. 64), Gianluigi Donnarumma (min. 86) and Fermín López (min. 97 )
red cards Ronald Araújo (min. 29)
The problem was that the fans entered into a mixture of feelings, some common —“Whore PSG”—, others unusual —“Vinicius die”—, there were also the vengeful ones —“Dembélé, Judas”—. The name of the former Barcelona striker once again took center stage in the tie. He had it in the game at the Parc des Princes when he scored, also in Montjuïc. “We deserved to win this match,” analyzed Dembélé, whistled in every action, protagonist in the press room and in the stands, especially on the grass. “Barcelona is great. It is a club that I like, but I am happy in Paris. You have to win the semi-final to reach the final. I understand the whistles, it’s life. “There are whistles in every stadium,” he added. The Frenchman lives oblivious to the environment. The opposite happened to Araujo, who exposed himself to expulsion in his attempt to stop Barcola. He took the red one. According to the Uruguayan, unfair. And so he made it clear when he left the field: he made the robbery gesture with his hand.
“We are upset, angry. I think the play marks the entire tie. Eleven against eleven we were well organized. For me it is too much red whistle on this play. It is not good to stay with ten and from there it is another game,” Xavi analyzed. Araujo’s expulsion opened more spaces on the field. A candy for Dembélé’s speed, always active, always indecipherable for Cancelo. The Frenchman’s impassivity in the face of insults increased his football, while he heightened Barça’s nerves, symbolized by another red card, this time for Xavi for kicking a UEFA poster.
“I told the referee that it was very bad, that it was a disaster. He has killed the tie. It changes everything,” said Xavi. Luis Enrique answered: “It is obvious that expulsion plays an important role. But I think that without the red we would have won. I can’t prove it. I don’t usually judge. I try to put myself in the referee’s shoes. I try to protest little or nothing and tell my players to control their emotions,” Luis Enrique replied. “I don’t like talking about the referees, but we can’t stay silent,” Xavi insisted. At the most critical moment of the match, the Barça team was left without its coach. To make matters worse, Mbappé appeared. The 7, who seems to have his future linked to the Santiago Bernabéu, scored the third and fourth goals of the match. PSG, then, slept through the duel. The road to the semi-final had already been shaken by Dembélé.
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