Kylian Mbappe bags brace as PSG stun Barcelona to reach Champions League semis

By Sports Desk April 16, 2024

Kylian Mbappe scored twice as Paris St Germain came from two goals down on aggregate to stun Barcelona and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Trailing 3-2 from the first leg, the visitors faced an uphill struggle when Raphinha scored the opener for Barca.

But the match turned when Ronald Araujo was sent off for a professional foul and goals from Ousmane Dembele, Vitinha and Mbappe’s double gave PSG a 4-1 win on the night and a 6-4 aggregate victory.

Barca took the lead, and gave themselves a two-goal cushion in the tie, in the 12th minute after superb work from Lamine Yamal.

The 16-year-old collected a pass on the right and ran at Nuno Mendes before a nifty piece of skill took him past the Portugal full-back.

Raphinha, who scored twice in the first leg, did not know much about his third of the tie as it ricocheted in off his shin four yards out.

The hosts almost had a second when Raphinha’s cross was only cleared to Robert Lewandowski, whose shot just went over the crossbar.

PSG remained a threat, though, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen had to make a smart save low to his left to keep out Mbappe’s close-range effort.

The drama came in the 29th minute when Araujo was shown a straight red card after he barged Bradley Barcola over on the edge of the area.

The Spaniards protested furiously that Pau Cubarsi was a covering defender, but after a VAR review, the decision stood.

Ten minutes later PSG were level on the night when Barcola whipped in a low cross which eluded Mbappe but was emphatically finished by Dembele at the far post.

After the break Vitinha collected the ball 25 yards out and, with no defenders closing him down, rifled into the net.

Ilkay Gundogan shaved a post for Barca but their night was about to take another turn for the worst when, first, boss Xavi was shown a red card for his angry reaction on the touchline.

Moments later PSG had a penalty when Joao Cancelo slid in and brought down Dembele, and Mbappe duly dispatched the spot-kick as the Ligue 1 side went ahead in the tie.

Barcelona staged a late rally but Gianluigi Donnarumma saved brilliantly from Lewandowski and Raphinha fired wide.

And in the last minute PSG broke forward and Mbappe lashed in the fourth to seal a stunning win.

Related items

  • Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia

    Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.

    Fermin Lopez's header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia's Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.

    But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi's side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.

    The win postponed Real Madrid's almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti's side sit atop the standings on 84 points.

    Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.

    Data debrief

    Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023. 

    However, Lewandowski's goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he's earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.

  • Kimmich ready to open Bayern Munich talks amid Barcelona speculation Kimmich ready to open Bayern Munich talks amid Barcelona speculation

    Joshua Kimmich is ready to open talks with Bayern Munich over his future at the club amid speculation linking him with Barcelona.

    The Germany international has spent nine years at the Allianz Arena, but he is due to become a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

    Barca have been repeatedly linked with Kimmich in recent transfer windows and are said to retain an interest ahead of next season.

    Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, the midfielder talked up Barca - as well as fierce rivals Real Madrid - but fell short of saying he is open to a move.

    "I want to talk to Bayern. When I do that, I won't go out and talk to the press about it," he said. 

    "I'm not thinking about this. I will speak to Bayern first. But of course, Barcelona and Real Madrid are amazing clubs with an amazing history."

    Kimmich has played 37 times in all competitions this season for Bayern, whose last remaining hope of silverware is in the Champions League.

    Bayern will face Real Madrid over two legs for a place in the final, with the first match in that double-header taking place in Bavaria on Tuesday.

    Thomas Tuchel will depart the dethroned Bundesliga champions at the end of the season, with Ralf Rangnick the favourite to succeed him.

    The managerial uncertainty is not helping with regards to the Kimmich rumours, but he insists that will not be a deciding factor on his future.

    "It's not the most important thing right now," he said. "I know that when you sign a contract you don't sign it with the coach. 

    "You sign it with the club. For me, the most important thing is the club, not just the coach. 

    "But it's also important to know what the coach thinks about you and the team. Other people in the club can worry about choosing the coach."

  • Desailly calls on LaLiga to do more to protect Vinicius Junior Desailly calls on LaLiga to do more to protect Vinicius Junior

    Marcel Desailly has called on LaLiga to do more to protect Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior and other players who have been targeted by racist abuse.

    Vinicius broke down at a press conference earlier this month as he opened up about the abuse he has received from the stands while representing Madrid.

    The Brazil international is not alone in that regard, with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni another example, and World Cup winner Desailly wants more to be done.

    "Vinicius has spoken out, but it's not about him - it's about LaLiga and the people who can take action," he told Stats Perform.

    "We have the power to change things, but we are not doing enough. Samuel Eto'o had the same issue before.

    "Vinicius is one of those who is suffering because the administrative people in charge are not willing to hit harder than they are."

    Vinicius has been a key player for LaLiga champions-elect Madrid once again this season with 13 goals and five assists in 23 outings.

    Desailly regards Vinicius, who scored the winning goal in the 2022 Champions League final, as one of the finest players of his generation.

    "He's a very ambitious player," Desailly said. "I think he's improved a lot because he is now clinical in assisting and finishing.

    "When you look at someone like Ousmane Dembele, his stats are not as good.

    "Then you look at Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka, another who has improved - there is potential for each of those to get close to Vinicius."

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.