PARIS.- He Paris Saint-Germain emerged victorious 4-2 in the stellar duel of the third day of the Champions League before him Barcelonaso far unstoppable this season, this Wednesday in a game where they were injured Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembélé, Marquinhos and Dani Olmo.
Vitinha (81′) and Fabian Ruiz (86′) decided a fight that had reached the final stretch even after the locals took the lead on two occasions, with goals from Désiré Doue (38′) and Lucas Hernandez (73′), and that the Catalans were equalizing thanks to Xavi Espart (55′) and Lamine Yamal (79′).
Both PSG and Barça had won in the first two rounds of this Champions League and the French came into the game as leaders by a better goal difference: they now distance themselves by 9 points, while the Catalans remain anchored at 6 points.
Barça shows its first signs of vulnerability of this season just before receiving the real Madrid in the great Classic of Spanish LaLiga.
PSG, for its part, has won for the seventh time in all competitions, and will arrive full of confidence for Sunday’s match against the Lyonfrom whom he will try to snatch the leadership of the Ligue 1.
Injured carousel
The big doubt for these next two duels between PSG and Barça will be the physical condition of the injured players.
The alarms went off especially for the Parisians in the 58th minute, when two of their players, Kvaratskhelia and Marquinhos, were forced to be substituted.
Perhaps the most worrying case is that of the Georgian, who was injured in an action with Xavi Espart and had to be taken off the field helped by two members of the medical staff, without being able to support his right leg.
Before that, PSG had seen their Ballon d’Or, Dembélé, who had to leave his position in the Parisians’ attack to Ferran Torres in the 19th minute, after an acceleration after which he reached for the back of his left thigh.
Shortly after, in the 26th minute, Olmo injured his groin and also requested the substitution, visibly upset.
“Parisian Massacre”
The first part had been preceded by a huge typhus in one of the backgrounds, in which a masked figure was destroying a Barcelona shield with a chainsaw along with an intimidating message: “Parisian Massacre.”
It did not come to that consideration, but PSG had chances from the beginning with more danger and intention.
He warned in the second minute with a shot against Kvaratskhelia’s post and then the goalkeeper Joan Garcia He made spectacular interventions against Ferran Torres (25′, 29′).
PSG were rewarded for their persistence in the 38th minute, when Yamal missed a pass and Doué recovered the ball, got into a shooting position and sent a shot from the edge of the area that became the first goal.
Fermin Lopezin a double great chance in the 39th minute, almost equalized before the break, but first ran into a saving hand from the goalkeeper Matvey Safonov and then the brazilian Marquinhos saved under sticks.
Final double blow
Fermín was able to get even later by giving the assist for the 19-year-old Xavi Espart to equalize in the 55th minute, moments before the changes of Marquinhos and Kvaratskhelia in a PSG that was taking oxygen in the 73rd minute, when Lucas Hernández scored the provisional 2-1, with a header from a corner kick.
Yamal tied the score again in the 79th minute, with a shot in the area from a small angle.
But there came PSG’s last reaction, the decisive one: the Portuguese Vitinha scored first in the 81st minute, with a shot from the edge of the area, and the Spanish Fabián Ruiz, who has just become a father, scored at will the final 4-2 in the 86th minute, to unleash the party in the Princes Park.
