Paris Saint-Germain continued their impressive start to the UEFA Champions League with a thrilling 4-2 victory over FC Barcelona at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday to halt the Spanish side’s 11-match winning streak across all competitions.
The defending champions maintained their perfect record in the league phase, winning their third consecutive match in a contest that showcased their attacking quality and exposed Barcelona’s defensive weaknesses.
The result also extended PSG’s recent dominance over the Catalan giants in Europe, having eliminated them in the quarter-finals of the 2023/24 Champions League before recording a 2-1 victory in last season’s campaign.
Luis Enrique’s side have now scored at least four goals in each of their three league-phase matches this season, underlining their attacking strength as they pursue an unprecedented third consecutive Champions League title.
Only Real Madrid, who won the competition three times in succession between 2016 and 2018 under Zinedine Zidane, have achieved that feat since the tournament was rebranded in 1992.
Doué Punishes Barcelona’s Mistake
PSG began the encounter aggressively, applying pressure high up the pitch and forcing Barcelona into several uncomfortable situations during the opening stages.
But goalkeeper Joan Garcia produced important interventions to keep the visitors in the contest, while PSG suffered an early setback when Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembele was forced off with an injury and replaced by Ferran Torres in the first half.
Despite losing their influential forward, the hosts continued to dictate proceedings and eventually broke the deadlock in the 38th minute.
Barcelona were punished after Lamine Yamal’s attempted lob pass failed to reach its intended target, allowing PSG to launch an attack that ended with Desire Doue finding the net.
The goal rewarded PSG’s sustained pressure and gave the French champions a deserved advantage heading into the interval.
Barcelona returned from the break with greater urgency and found an equaliser in the 55th minute through young defender Xavi Espart, who registered his first ever Champions League goal.
The visitors briefly threatened to turn the contest in their favour, but PSG responded by reclaiming the lead in the 72nd minute.
Lucas Hernandez rose to meet a corner and directed his header into the net, restoring the hosts’ advantage and forcing Barcelona to chase the game once more.
Yamal brought the visitors level again seven minutes later, producing an impressive solo run down the right before finishing to make it 2-2.
However, Barcelona’s hopes of salvaging a result were short-lived as Le Parisian responded in a ruthless fashion.
Vitinha and Ruiz Complete PSG’s Victory
PSG restored their lead just two minutes after Yamal’s equaliser, with Vitinha finishing a move to put the hosts 3-2 ahead.
Barcelona attempted to respond, but the French champions maintained their attacking intensity and capitalised on the spaces left by their opponents as the game approached its conclusion.
Fabián Ruiz then settled the contest four minutes from time, finding the net to complete a memorable victory for the hosts after finding himself loose to tap home into an empty net from close range.
The defeat marks Barcelona’s first loss in 12 matches across all competitions, while PSG strengthened their position as one of the leading contenders for the European crown.
The result also continued a run of positive meetings for PSG against Barcelona in the Champions League.
In April 2024, the French side overturned a first-leg deficit to eliminate Barcelona in the quarter-finals, winning 4-1 away in the second leg for a 6-4 aggregate triumph.
PSG subsequently defeated Barcelona 2-1 during their successful European campaign last season, and Tuesday’s result provided another statement of their ability to overpower the Spanish giants.
With three wins from three matches, PSG have collected nine points and maintained their perfect league-phase record. Their previous victories were a 6-1 win over Slovan Bratislava and a 4-2 triumph against Manchester City.
Liverpool, Manchester City and Roma Impress
Elsewhere, Liverpool produced a comeback victory at Anfield, recovering from a two-goal deficit to defeat Villarreal 4-3 and secure their third consecutive win in the competition.
Manchester City also returned to winning ways in emphatic fashion, thrashing Greek side AEK Athens 5-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
Roma responded to their disappointing defeat against Real Madrid last week by recording a convincing 4-0 victory over Slovan Bratislava in the Italian capital. The Slovakian side remained without a point after three matches and Yaya Toure’s side have conceded not less than three goals in all games in the competition.
FC Porto suffered a 1-0 home defeat against PSV Eindhoven, while Napoli edged Norwegian opponents Bodø/Glimt 4-3 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in another high-scoring encounter.
Atletico Madrid secured a 1-1 draw against Stuttgart in Germany despite being reduced to 10 men.
Earlier, Borussia Dortmund defeated Sabah FK 2-1, while Fenerbahce and Slavia Prague shared a 2-2 draw.
The night’s results provided another entertaining chapter in the league phase, with goals flowing across Europe as clubs continued their pursuit of qualification for the knockout rounds.
Matchday 3 Continue on Wednesday
Matchday three concludes on Wednesday, October 21, with nine fixtures scheduled.
The standout encounter sees Bayern Munich host Arsenal, while Real Madrid welcome RB Leipzig. Manchester United travel to Como, Aston Villa face Viking, and Inter Milan meet Shakhtar Donetsk.
Other fixtures include Lille against Galatasaray, Club Brugge versus Lens, Real Betis against Feyenoord, and Sporting CP taking on LASK.
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