Barcelona 1-4 PSG (4-6 agg): Xavi unhappy with ‘really bad’ referee on chaotic night
- Explore the chaos of Barcelona vs. PSG as Xavi expresses dissatisfaction with the refereeing amidst a 4-1 defeat (4-6 aggregate). Delve into the controversy now
Prior to everything devolving into mayhem, Barcelona appeared to be in charge in Spain with a two-goal advantage overall.
On a dramatic Tuesday evening at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Paris St-Germain defeated Barcelona 4-1. The referee was criticized for his “disaster performance,” Barcelona’s players were criticized for their “panic,” and there was also an unwarranted expulsion.
After Barcelona center-back Ronald Araujo was sent off, PSG overcame a 3-2 deficit in the first leg to win the match 6-4 on aggregate in their Champions League quarterfinal.
Barcelona lost the match due to goals from Ousmane Dembele, a long-range effort from Vitinha, and a brace from Kylian Mbappe, who scored twice against his old team.
Referee Istvan Kovacs had a busy evening as Barcelona produced a performance rife with errors. The Romanian sent the home team three red cards, causing manager Xavi to lose his cool. A member of his coaching staff was then fired for disobedience. That made the harm caused by Araujo’s early first-half challenge on Bradley Barcola—which resulted in a red card—even worse.
“The referee performed terribly. I informed him that his performance was appalling. Although Xavi dislikes discussing referees, he told Movistar Plus that they had a noticeable impact on the season.
“The fact that the red card decided the game has us furious and disturbed. With eleven, we were controlling the game and in a strong position.
“In a game like this, it is excessive to flash a red card. After then, there was another game. It is unfortunate that an unwarranted dismissal marred the season’s worth of labor.”
Araujo’s early departure gave PSG the advantage. The goals came easily, and Barcelona crumbled. Joao Cancelo unnecessarily knocked down Dembele in the box, setting up Mbappe for his first of two penalty kick goals.
“Mistakes are unacceptable in the Champions League,” ex-Barcelona forward Thierry Henry stated to CBS.
“If you make mistakes, you pay the price straight away and that’s why it is so hard to win that competition because you cannot make one mistake.”
“This is your moment,” says Mbappe, sustaining PSG’s hopes.
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Relive a wild Champions League evening.
After winning 3-2 in Paris, Barcelona’s second leg got off to the ideal start as Raphinha turned in a cross from adolescent Lamine Yamal.
However, PSG took the lead in the second half as Kovacs’ cards proved to be a turning point, and Barcelona’s lead did not last long.
“It is a shame that all the work of a season, because of a refereeing decision, finishes here,” Xavi stated to CBS.
“I wish I had played 11 v 11 against PSG and Luis Enrique for the entire duration of the match. Although sending someone out in football is a known occurrence, I think Araujo’s was needless.”
Twelve cards were displayed during the match in addition to five goals, a penalty, and an effort by Ilkay Gundogan that almost missed the woodwork in the second half.
However, former striker Henry believes Barcelona is solely to blame for the mayhem.
“Barcelona should have been reduced to ten men. That was indeed a penalty. That does not imply that you must give up your goals,” he continued.
“They weren’t playing with ten men for the goals they gave up. It was a result of their first panic. Panic prevents you from being a champion or winning any titles. Whoever you are, I don’t care.
“In tough circumstances, you must not panic because it will eventually catch up to you and the team in the stadium, and the momentum will shift in favor of Paris St-Germain.” They are then eliminated from the competition.”
Barcelona fans in the stadium were in tears at the end of the match. As players collapsed to the ground, stadium manager Xavi descended from a box to comfort his squad.
Paris Saint-Germain celebrated in front of the visiting supporters, led by Mbappe. They can anticipate making it to the semi-finals for the fourth time.
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