PSG vs Barcelona (2017 Champions League Round of 16)

Lore & Background

This was the third match between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League knockout phases. PSG lost both previous encounters: in the quarter-finals of the 2012–13 edition on away goals and the 2014–15 season 5–1 on aggregate. Both teams had comfortably qualified from the group stage: PSG qualified as runner-up in Group A having faced Arsenal, Basel, and having achieved a nine-point lead over 3rd-placed Ludogorets Razgrad; Barcelona qualified as leaders of Group C, 10 points ahead of Borussia Mönchengladbach in third place and leading 2nd-place Manchester City by six points. The first leg was played on 14 February at the Parc des Princes in Paris; both teams were in good shape with Paris Saint-Germain coming from a 3–0 away win at Bordeaux in Ligue 1 and Barcelona thrashing Alavés in a 6–0 away win in La Liga. Ángel Di María put PSG in front on 18 minutes with a free kick after Barcelona's Samuel Umtiti committed a foul. Julian Draxler made it 2–0 with a low shot in the 40th minute, assisted by Marco Verratti. After 55 minutes, Di María scored again from a shot outside the box. Edinson Cavani scored the final goal of the game in the 72nd minute, securing the 4–0 win. Barcelona achieved only one shot on target during the whole match. The second leg was played on 8 March at the Camp Nou in Barcelona. The two teams again came into the match having won their league games: Barcelona won 5–0 at home against Celta Vigo while Paris Saint-Germain won 1–0, also at home, against Nancy.

In Their Own Story

The air in Barcelona was thick with tension, a palpable electricity that made every breath feel heavy. Inside the tunnel, players from both sides knew the stakes: one goal would end a season of dreams for the hosts, while another would resurrect them from the dead. As the referee blew the final whistle after Roberto's header, the roar was not just sound; it was a physical force that shook the foundations of the stadium. Fans wept in the stands, strangers embraced in the aisles, and for one fleeting, impossible moment, the laws of probability were suspended.

Reader's Guide

Three minutes into the match, Luis Suárez scored the first goal of the game after heading the ball over the line before it was cleared by Thomas Meunier. Paris Saint-Germain's Layvin Kurzawa scored an own goal in an attempt to block a shot by Andrés Iniesta in the 40th minute. Five minutes after the restart, Neymar was fouled by Thomas Meunier in the penalty box, and Lionel Messi converted the penalty. Edinson Cavani scored Paris Saint-Germain's only goal in the 62nd minute, leaving them requiring three more to win due to the away goals rule now favoring PSG, who scored one away goal compared to Barcelona, who scored none. Neymar scored two goals in the closing stages – a free kick in the 88th minute and a penalty kick when Luis Suárez was fouled in the first minute of injury time – to make it 5–1. In the final seconds of the match, Neymar delivered a cross into the penalty area. Sergi Roberto scored Barcelona's sixth and final goal in the fifth minute of injury time, thus winning the game 6–1 and advancing to the quarter finals 6–5 on aggregate.

Did You Know?

• Edinson Cavani scored PSG's only goal in the second leg, a non-penalty goal in the 62nd minute.
• Sergi Roberto scored the winning goal in the fifth minute of injury time.
• The match is known as La Remontada, meaning 'the comeback' in Spanish and Catalan.
• Neymar scored two goals in the closing stages: a free kick in the 88th minute and a penalty in the first minute of injury time.