Paris Saint-Germain took a big step towards the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, with a 4-1 win in Barcelona on Tuesday. Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick and Moise Kean added one, following a handicap by Mauricio Pochettino’s men to punish Ronald Koeman’s defense.
It was an exciting first part, as both teams found the bottom of the net and created opportunities that they failed to take advantage of. Barça advanced with a perfect penalty from Lionel Messi after Layvin Kurzawa was tried for stumbling over Antoine Griezmann in the penalty area, but PSG responded via Mbappe, who fired over Marc-Andre ter Stegen with a sublime assist from Marco Verratti.
Both teams were lucky at times with PSG’s luck that Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele were no longer sharp in goal and Barça grateful for Ter Stegen’s quick thinking and reflexes, as well as Mauro Icardi’s header on the near post, which passed by. Idrissa Gueye was fortunate enough not to receive a second yellow card after a violent opening in the 45th minute, but Verratti’s Velcro touch and impeccable timing made him the star of the show at Camp Nou.
PSG turned around in the second half and went flying in search of the second goal and needed 20 minutes to reach it when Alessandro Florenzi’s ball fell to him and hit the nail on the head. However, Kean’s goal took less time to arrive, with the Italian heading after Leandro Paredes’s free kick five minutes later. Ter Stegen did what he could in the second half, but his defense abandoned him when Mbappe majestically rolled the ball past him to complete his hat-trick five minutes from time after substitute Julian Draxler coached him on a famous night for the Les Parisiens.