PSG vs Barcelona live updates (2024)

• 37’: Raphinha fired Barcelona in front after Donnarumma error
• 48’: Dembele scored against his old club with fierce drive inside box
• 50’: Vitinha then scored from close range as PSG got in front
• 61’: But Raphinha scored again for Barcelona with fine volley
• 77’: And Christensen won the game with his first touch

Luckily for you, the thirst for more Champions League football will be quenched in less than a week.

Here is the schedule.

Tuesday, April 16

• Barcelona (3) vs (2) PSG – 8pm BST/3pm ET/12pm PT (Covered live here on The Athletic)
• Borussia Dortmund (1) vs (2) Atletico Madrid – 8pm BST/3pm ET/12pm PT

Wednesday, April 17

• Bayern Munich (2) vs (2) Arsenal – 8pm BST/3pm ET/12pm PT (Covered live here on The Athletic)
• Manchester City (3) vs (3) Real Madrid – 8pm BST/3pm ET/12pm PT (Covered live here on The Athletic)

Oh, and we will be back tomorrow for Liverpool's visit to Italy where they face Atalanta in the Europa League – our build up to that one will start at 12pm BST/9am ET/6am PT.

Mbappe has so often been the difference-maker for PSG in the Champions League — he scored three of their four goals in the last round against Real Sociedad.

But on what could be his final European night as a PSG player at the Parc des Princes, he was not at his game-breaking best. No shots on target, the first time for Mbappe in a home Champions League game since September 2021 against Manchester City. Only one of three dribbles completed, three fouls made and three offsides. Those are not Mbappe numbers.

A big part of Mbappe’s quiet was Barcelona’s strong defensive shape, in a compact 4-4-2 mid-block that gave plenty of wide coverage. His international team-mate Jules Kounde was quick to get tight and was backed up by Ronald Araujo, who has often been used by Barcelona to defend against Vinicius Junior in Clasicos — the best practice for defending Mbappe.

Luis Enrique’s half-time switch to a split-strikers system gave him more space to run in behind, as in the first half Mbappe had been too eager to drop to the edge of the box when PSG got into crossing positions. Xavi stressed a necessity to prevent PSG counter-attacks, aware of Mbappe’s threat in big spaces, with Sergi Roberto’s tactical foul yellow card an example of their defensive approach.

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Gianluigi Donnarumma has so often bailed Paris Saint-Germain out of a hole, especially this season during the teething pains of Luis Enrique’s adaptation.

Frequently, and more often than not away from home, PSG have been left wide open in matches. They have conceded plenty of shots — an average of around 15 conceded per match in the league and in Europe when playing away from home. It has been Donnarumma to the rescue.

But against Barcelona, the Italian goalkeeper turned in a particularly below-par display.

The one nagging concern, and a longstanding one, is his distribution and that was painfully evident for Barcelona’s second goal. His pass turned over possession, with Pedri and Raphinha taking full advantage.

But it was his overall performance that made an impression. He struggled to deal with aerial balls into his box; beaten by Robert Lewandowski in the air from an early corner, requiring Nuno Mendes to clear off the line, and then palmed Yamal’s cross straight to Raphinha for the first goal of the night. By the time Barca were scoring their third, from a corner that landed inside his six-yard box, his confidence seemed to be shattered.

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Among the multitudes of sub-plots ahead of this fixture, the reunion of Dembele and Barcelona stood out.

His departure for PSG last summer shocked Barcelona; an unexpected transfer of a key player sold for a fee, at €50million (£42.8m; $53.7m), well below his true value.

Dembele has become an integral figure at his new club this season, even if he has not had the numbers to show it. Before tonight he had only scored one goal for PSG this season — his role is far more rounded than that — but it’s the criticism that masks the rest.

For 45 minutes, this match was passing him by but then, after Luis Enrique’s half-time changes, he came alive.

Just as against Real Sociedad in the round of 16, Dembele was planted into the centre of the field. He now saw more of the ball, more of the play, and had more opportunities to run and torment with his quick feet.

Was it inevitable that he would score? No, and certainly not with his left foot– he is a two-footed player but he has said that he prefers to dribble with his left and shoot with his right. But his dummy and then finish, beating young defender Cubarsi, was a moment of excellence. It changed the game and lifted the atmosphere. It reflected the influence he now has at PSG.

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It is easy to forget just how young Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi actually are. At 16 and 17 years old respectively, they rarely look out of place alongside their more experienced team-mates — even on a stage as grand as this.

At 16 years and 272 days old, Yamal became the youngest player to appear in a Champions League quarter-final and he played a key role in Raphinha’s 37th-minute opener. Robert Lewandowski offloaded to the winger and he put in what is fast becoming a trademark outside-of-the-boot cross for the Polish striker.

Donnarumma could only stretch a hand to it and Raphinha, calmly and precisely, was on hand to turn home his first Champions League goal.

But it all stemmed from Cubarsi.

A line-breaking pass from the centre-back to Lewandowski kickstarted the move and showed why he has already been compared to Barca greats such as Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol. He was equally nerveless in defence, looking assured when called upon and helping Barca neutralise Kylian Mbappe in the first half.

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It was all going so well for Barca — they had looked on top of Kylian Mbappe and his team-mates for much of the first half and were good value for their 1-0 lead.

But then Luis Enrique made some clever tweaks at the start of the second half and Dembele and Vitinha turned the game on its head within three minutes. Xavi was forced to react against his former coach — and his changes paid off.

Pedri’s introduction just after the hour provided an instant boost.

Less than a minute after he had come on for Sergi Roberto, he had played an inch-perfect pass over the top of the PSG defence for Raphinha to score his second and drag Barca back into the game. This was the midfielder’s first appearance since an injury at the start of March, but Xavi’s side need his quality in the build-up.

Barca’s third also came from a Xavi substitute making an instant impact.

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Based on the opening five minutes of the second half alone, Luis Enrique’s half-time tactical tweaks had the desired effect.

Replacing false nine Marco Asensio with Bradley Barcola allowed PSG to move back to the 4-3-1-2 system that worked so well in the round of 16 second leg away at Real Sociedad — Kylian Mbappe and Bradley Barcola as split strikers with Ousmane Dembele operating as a No 10 and able to drop deep.

Just as important, though, was the shift of captain Marquinhos from right-back to centre-back, changing places with Lucas Hernandez.

This offered greater protection against Robert Lewandowski as Barcelona had played long to their No 9 in the first half with repeated success. PSG’s split-striker system worked to pin Barcelona’s full-backs wider, better isolating their centre-backs to create angles to slip central midfielders into the box — which is exactly how Vitinha put PSG ahead.

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Time for some of the contributions from The Athletic subscribers in our matchday discussion page.

Adarsh S: A classic example why elite teams need goalkeeper that can play with the feet and attacking players that can defend. PSG are lacking in both.

Fernando S: Cubarsi my favorite player of the year. As a Barça fan it’s amazing to see a young Masia alum work their way into the first team. Calm and courageous on and off the ball.

Diego H: Barca playing some of the best football of all season when it matters most (doesn’t mean much high given how bad they have been playing). It’s still way off the level needed but it would be a welcome boost financially if we get to semis… anything can happen still though.

Michael S: Barca remind me of Chelsea a few years back, getting hot at the right time. They are dangerous when healthy and have a ton of ridiculously young extreme talent. If they make the semi-final they will not be a team anyone wants to play.

Pedri came into a game being played at a ferocious pace without any football in his legs in a month.

Yet, with his first pass, he played Raphinha clean through on goal with arguably the best moment of the match in terms of quality. The instructions he received from his manager were simple.

"Xavi simply told me to come on mentally prepared and ready to contribute," he told Prime Video. "He wanted us to push PSG and to squeeze them high up the pitch.

"I came on absolutely buzzing with the hunger to help the team and that pass to Raphinha for the goal just came off nicely. Both coaches tonight love to play attacking, high-pressing football and that accounts for the match we saw here."

It seems fair to say that was Raphinha's best performance in a Barcelona shirt.

He was excellent and his tiresome running was rewarded with two very well-taken goals and the Player of the Match award.

"These last few weeks we've been working very hard in training," he told Canal+. "To come here and to return home with a win is pretty positive I'd say. Winning is important, but this tie is nowhere near finished."

"It's too soon, I haven't had time to reflect," he told TNT Sports. "But it is a pity because we started the match properly, in a good mood. But, after we conceded the goal, we were disappointing.

"We started the second half in the best way and we could've scored the third goal, but suddenly we conceded a second goal and the last goal. At 2-2, we created some chances.

"But we still have the spirit to go to Barcelona and win.

"We have (Hakimi) back, but it is not just about one player. You have to play as a team and try to overcome Barcelona. We are going to go to Barcelona with the right attitude and commitment to win the match."

"We are just halfway," Xavi continued. "The game in Barcelona will be tough because Paris Saint-Germain are one of the best teams in Europe right now.

"We have to be proud (with the young players). Cubarsi is 17, Lamine is 16, Fermin is a new player. Players from La Masia also have more commitment with the team.

"I'm very happy because it's a new Barca but we are in a good way."

"It's a big win, of course," the Barca boss told TNT Sports. "Playing away in the Champions League, it's always a big win. We did really well, especially in defence.

"Everybody worked for the team – the wingers helped us a lot. We defended so well against Mbappe with Kounde and Ronald Araujo.

"And we created many chances. Robert (Lewandowski) made the difference, Raphinha as well. So I'm very happy and very proud of the team."

Seven Barcelona players arrived at today's game in the knowledge that another yellow card would see them miss the second leg.

Of those seven, two were shown bookings and will be suspended for next Tuesday's match.

Those two are captain Sergi Roberto and goalscorer Andreas Christensen.

PSG did not lose any players to suspension and they will have Achraf Hakimi back in Catalonia after he served a suspension tonight.

The four quarter-final first legs coughed up a whopping 18 goals over yesterday and today.

That is the most since the 2010-11 campaign when the same amount were scored.

I'm not sure even Xavi thought his substitutes would pan out as well as they did.

Pedri assisted Raphinha's second goal with his first pass after replacing Sergi Roberto.

Then Andreas Christensen scored to make it 3-2 with his first touch after replacing Frenkie de Jong.

Everything the Barcelona manager touched turned to gold at Parc des Princes.

The Champions League, don't you just love it?

It has been non-stop drama in the quarter-finals so far with all eight teams still well in with a chance of making the semi-final.

Barcelona are the only team that will have a lead in the second leg while Atletico Madrid are the only team who will have a lead to defend away from home.

In the other two quarter-finals, it is a straight shootout.

• Arsenal 2-2 Bayern Munich (Saka, Trossard; Gnabry, Kane)
• Real Madrid 3-3 Manchester City (Dias [OG], Rodrygo, Valverde; Silva, Foden, Gvardiol)
• Atletico Madrid 2-1 Borussia Dortmund (De Paul, Lino; Haller)
• PSG 2-3 Barcelona (Dembele, Vitinha; Raphinha [x2], Christensen)

Raphinha was making his 80th appearance for Barcelona tonight and he marked it with his first brace for the club.

He has just been celebrating being awarded the Player of the Match award with his team-mates, and rightly so — he was excellent before being substituted.

And he is in esteemed company as the last Barca player to score a brace in a Champions League knockout match was Lionel Messi against Liverpool in the semi-final in May 2019.

From controlled to chaos.

Barcelona steadied themselves really well after Luis Enrique's half-time changes completely altered the game.

It's a big result, as they have ended PSG’s 27-match unbeaten run.