Paris Saint-Germain 4-2 Barcelona: Blaugrana’s winning run ended by holders in Champions League thriller

Paris Saint-Germain treated Barcelona their first loss of the new season as a Champions League the holders secured another declared victory by prevailing 4-2 in a thriller at Parc dels Princes.

Barca had started the season on an 11-match winning streak, taking maximum points from their first two Champions League games while winning their first nine LaLiga games to equal the Spanish record.

But for all their attacking threat, Barca were second best in the French capital against the two-time defenders, who backed up their 4-2 home win over Manchester City last week with another scintillating performance.

Desire Doue gave PSG the lead at the end of a first half in which Ousmane Dembele limped off for the home side and Dani Olmo was injured for Barcelona.

But Xavi Espart equalized for Hansi Flick’s side and, although Lucas Hernández put PSG back in front with a rare goal, Barca looked set to get something out of the game after a typically impressive individual effort from Lamine Yamal.

However, a sublime goal from Vitinha gave PSG the lead for a third time, and they made sure it was not taken away again as Fabian Ruiz’s simple finish wrapped up the points. Victory for Luis Enrique’s side against his former club means it’s three wins from three in the league stage for PSG, while Barca must now hope that a vibrant clash hasn’t taken them too far ahead of this weekend’s Clasico with Real Madrid.

Champions League favorites Paris Saint-Germain are fantastic again

PSG started brightly as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia hit the post early on before Anthony Gordon wasted a chance to open the scoring at the far post at the other end.

Having survived that scare, PSG were further worried when ex-Barcelona forward Dembele got up clutching his thigh. The Ballon d’Or winner was quickly replaced by Ferran Torres, who left Camp Nou this summer to join Luis Enrique’s men.

Torres received the first goal from the excellent Joan Garcia after latching on to a superb pass from Joao Neves.

Olmo joined Dembele in making an early start as his injury led to the introduction of Fermín Lopez, which preceded more heroics from Garcia, who thwarted Torres and Fabian Ruiz with a stunning double save.

Barça continued their run of luck, and were fortunate to see Michael Oliver divert claims from a penalty despite Espart keeping Kvaratskheila in the box for an extended period.

PSG’s pressure showed in the 43rd minute when Doue punished Barcelona for ceding possession in their own half, his brutal strike from the edge of the box flying over Garcia and finding the bottom left corner.

Fermin was unable to quickly restore parity when he failed to clear the ball over Matvey Safonov after being played through on goal, although the half ended fittingly with Garcia making a save to keep out Kvaratskheila’s effort.

Garcia returned to action shortly after the second-half restart to thwart Achraf Hakimi, and PSG were punished for their blunder as Espart proved the unlikely source of Barca’s equaliser.

Espart was played down the right wing by a good pass from Fermin, and his effort near the low post was too hot for Safonov to handle.

Marquinhos and Kvaratskheila withdrew through injury just before the hour mark, with PSG’s previous dominance seemingly fading as Gavi and Joao Cancelo both equalized Safonov saves.

However, only the woodwork prevented Torres from scoring against his former club when he smashed home Hakimi’s low cross at the near post, and moments later Hernández restored PSG’s lead.

Hernandez beat Gordon in the air as he rose to meet Doue’s corner, curling a header that flew into the top right corner for his first goal since February 2024.

That goal was followed by Hernandez leaving the stage as he was replaced by Warren Zaire-Emery, a substitution that appeared to have backfired when Zaire-Emery misjudged a cross-field pass. His header fell nicely into the path of Yamal, who raced to the byline before producing a cheeky finish with the outside of his boot as Safonov was beaten back at his near post.

The tie lasted just two minutes, however, as Barca’s defensive frailties came back to haunt them once again. His failure to clear his lines properly was punished mercilessly by Vitinha, who dropped his chest before firing an unerring half volley past Garcia.

And then PSG earned the decisive breather their performance deserved, Hakimi the provider as he delivered to the far post for Ruiz, who had the simple task of tapping home from distance.

The UEFA Champions League table

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