“I told the referee that he created a bad performance,” coach Xavi said after Barca lost 1-4 (final 4-6), “He is a real disaster.” . It’s a pity that the whole season’s efforts were ruined just because of the referee’s decision. I wanted 11 people to play against 11 people the whole match, but the referee’s unnecessary red card ruined everything.”
Barca enters the quarterfinals of the 2023/24 Champions League second leg with a 3-2 lead. They played again at the Olympic home field in front of the passionate cheers of the Catalan audience, who booed and threw objects at… the home team’s bus, mistakenly thinking it was a bus carrying PSG players.
The match took place with a similar scenario a week ago, when PSG attacked and Barca waited for an opportunity. It came in the 12th minute, when Yamal Lamine beat Nuno Mendes, broke through on the right wing and then assisted Raphinha to finish past Donnarumma. The final score increased to 4-2 and it seemed that PSG would have to say goodbye to the Champions League.
But the turning point happened in the 29th minute. Araujo clearly fouled Barcola and referee Istvan Kovacs resolutely showed the red card. Playing without players, Barca could not stop the stormy runs of Barcola, Dembele and Mbappe.
In the 40th minute, from Barcola’s pass, Dembele made a quick shot to equalize the score. PSG took the lead in the 54th minute after Vitinha’s long-range shot, making Xavi angry outside the field. To vent his anger, he kicked the Champions League sign and was eliminated. Goalkeeping coach Jose Ramon De la Fuente also received a similar red card for protesting the referee’s decision.
Not long after, in the 61st minute, Joao Cancelo fouled Dembele in the penalty area and on the penalty spot, Mbappé increased the score to 3-1, and opened the door to the semi-finals when PSG led 5-4 in the second leg. . end. . However, things don’t stop there.
In the 89th minute, PSG counterattacked. Mbappe’s first shot was blocked by Ter Stegen. Marco Asensio’s rebound could not beat the German goalkeeper but brought the ball back to Kypbapp. This time, no one can save Barca. The lightning-fast finish of the star who was expected to move to Real next summer officially put an end to the Catalan team.
“We are very sad and disappointed by the loss,” Xavi shared after his final Champions League match as Barca coach. “We were well organized, created many opportunities and always controlled the ball.” But the red card appeared and controlling the match with only 10 people was really difficult.”
As for PSG, the resounding victory over Barca took them to the semi-finals of the 2023/24 Champions League, where they will meet Dortmund, the team that just eliminated another Spanish representative, Atletico, with a total score of 6-2 afterwards. two matches.
