Blaise Matuidi scored in the dying
seconds of a tense encounter at
the Par Des Princes to give Paris
Saint-Germain a lifeline to carry to
the return leg at Camp Nou in a
week’s time as PSG attempt to get
through to the semifinals of the
Champions League and show that
their team is not just a lavish
assortment of players, but indeed
champion material. A match in
which Lionel Messi got his
customary goal, Ibrahimovic
equalized through a vengeful strike
against his former team and just
when everyone thought that the tie
had been settled after a Xavi
penalty, Matuidi, having been
suspended for the second leg after
being yellow-carded, gave his side
a present to take to the party at
the Camp Nou and hopefully, do
what only one side managed to do
this whole season or for that
matter only a handful of sides
could do in the last few years –
beat Barcelona at their home.
And yes, Messi picked up an injury
during the match which might still
be the biggest news to emerge out
of Paris depending on the
seriousness of the injury.
Starting Lineups
PSG (4-4-2) : Sirigu – Jallet, Alex,
Silva, Maxwell – Moura, Matuidi,
Beckham, Pastore – Lavezzi,
Ibrahimovic
Ibrahimovic getting his suspension
ban reduced to just one match was
the big news in the build up to
this fixture as that meant he can
start against Barca, his bitter old
club. Beckham starting was
probably mildly surprising, but
maybe the thought process was
that his experience in these big
games could influence the rest of
the team, most of whom are
relatively new to this big stage.
Other than that, Ancelotti did not
tinker too much.
Barcelona (4-3-3) : Valdes –
Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba –
Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta – Sanchez,
Messi, Villa
Xavi and Alba who were both
major injury concerns after
returning from international duties
started the match. Pedro has been
suspended after receiving two
yellow cards. So Sanchez replaces
him. Otherwise, it is the same
starting eleven that mounted the
epic comeback against Milan.
Tactics and Analysis
There were rumours going around
that Mourinho had sent Ancelotti
videos and tips as to how to beat
Barcelona and that PSG have even
practised those tips in the build up
to this match. Whether or not that
is true, those tactics are not really
top-secret or patented. To put it
briefly, defend with discipline, soak
up the pressure, try and disrupt
the passing rhythm and score on
the counter-attack. And PSG have
Ibra to hold the long balls up
front, have Lucas Moura and
Lavezzi to add pace to the wings,
Matuidi to do all the dirty work
and yet contribute to the attack,
so one could say the plan suits
them very ideally which was
evident in the first 15 minutes of
play.
It took PSG all of 5 minutes to
create their first clear opportunity
when Lavezzi found himself in the
thick of things and the ball hit the
post after it clipped off Busquets
who hurried back to defend. The
game began to settle into a rhythm
as time went on with Barca trying
to patiently find a way through the
defence and PSG trying to hit them
on the counter-attack. On the
counter-attack, Lucas Moura
proved to be a handful with his
pace and Ibra should have done
better after Moura laid off a very
good ball only for Ibra to shoot
wide.
Messi fires it in with his left foot
The Messi moment came soon
after as Dani Alves produced a
moment of genius to curl in a
wonderful pass with the outside of
his right foot into the penalty area
after a clearance from a corner.
The ball found the left leg of Messi
and Messi duly obliged. He
smashed it into the net to give
Barca the lead. Usually when
Barca takes the lead, teams open
up quite a bit as they have to
score, which plays to Barca’s
advantage. This tie was no
different and there were a lot of
“ooohhs” when Messi tried to curl
a shot into the far corner which
was just off target. By this time,
the end of the first half was near.
Barca ended the half with virtually
ten men as Messi was engaged in
a conversation with Tito and as
Fabregas started warming up
along the touchline, the possibility
of an injured Messi started
creeping in.
Surely enough, Cesc substituted
Messi at the start of the second
half and the absence of Messi
soon started to tell. Though not at
their mesmeric best, Barca had two
big chances to double their goal
tally, both of which fell to Alexis
Sanchez. But as has become the
norm these days, he looks
incapable of putting a ball in the
net. In the meantime, PSG began
stringing a few passes together
and soon enough, a series of set-
pieces, Barca’s worst nightmares
these days, resulted in an equaliser
for PSG. Thiago Silva, who had
been excellent throughout the
match headed a free-kick onto the
post and the rebound fell kindly for
Ibra to score, though he was in an
offside position when Silva headed
the ball.
Substitutions were made and the
match headed into the final stages
when Alexis’ pace was finally put
to some use as he knocked the ball
out of Sirigu’s reach to claim a
stonewall penalty. Xavi sent the
keeper the wrong way and the tie
looked settled once and for all.
However, PSG had the last laugh
as Matuidi smashed one into the
penalty area in the final minute of
injury time and Valdes simply
could not adjust to the slight
deflection the ball took.
Barca will probably feel that they
did not have the rub of the green,
what with PSG’s first goal being
offside and second goal being
scored in the final few seconds
with the help of a deflection. PSG
on the other hand might feel that
they have been rewarded for their
hard work and their persistence. At
the end of the day, the tie is far
from settled and both teams now
have all to play for at the Camp
Nou in a week’s time.
Man of the Match: Thiago Silva
Silva was literally everywhere on
the pitch. He put in tackles left,
right and centre of the field, tried
to bring the ball out of the defence
and run into the final third with it
and rose higher than everyone else
to create the first goal. Even as
Xavi scored the penalty in the last
stages of the match, he was
spotted motivating his team-
mates that the match still has a
few minutes left and that the game
is not over. He took on the
responsibility of handling Messi
upon himself and probably did not
commit a single mistake in the
entire match.
Captain leading from the front
He showed Barcelona what they let
go last summer when Camp Nou
looked like his most probable
destination before PSG snapped
him up. A perfect captain’s
performance from arguably the
world’s best defender.
