Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain played out an entertaining encounter in Spain, with the visitors emerging victorious following a goal at the death from Goncalo Ramos.
The hosts took the lead through Ferran Torres before goals from Senny Mayulu and Ramos flipped the script in Spain.
It was a night where the visitors were without many of their key attackers, including Ballon d’Or winner Ousmanne Dembele. Luis Enrique’s men would have likely been happy with the point to take back to the French capital with them.
Barcelona were not at full strength themselves. Raphina was the big miss for them, as his absence certainly showed at times, particularly in the second half, when it seemed that Yamal and Rashford had been nullified by the visitors.
Unlike their first game of the 2025/26 Champions League campaign, Barcelona would have Lamine Yamal at their disposal, coming as a monumental boost for the hosts. Having picked up a thigh injury, Raphina was unable to feature against Luis Enrique’s side.
The visitors were without some key figures in the squad, leaving the bench particularly thin-looking. Ousmanne Dembele and Desire Doue remained out, whilst Kvicha Kvaratskelia was a new name on the injury list for the Parisians. 17-year-old Ibrahim Mbaye occupied the right flank whilst Senny Mayulu started down the centre.
Yamal wasted no time in getting on the front foot, cutting inside and then easing past two men before looking to lay the ball off to Ferran Torres. Ilya Zabarnyi intercepted to ensure that the hosts did not get an early sight of the goal.
Flick’s side were enjoying a much larger share of the ball in the early stages of proceedings, but the Parisians looked content to counter. Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes looked like they could cause some problems down the flanks for Barcelona to try to navigate.
The latter created the first big opportunity of the match for Paris. A ball whipped in by Mendes was heading towards Zabarnyi, who had broken free of his markers. However, the Ukrainian failed to direct his headed attempt on target, in a chance that he should have really done better with.
Minutes later, it looked like Barcelona were going to gain the lead, as Ferran Torres, found by Yamal, managed to dribble around Lucas Chevalier. Zabarnyi got himself involved yet again, this time making a vital block to deny the Spaniard an opening goal.
Despite the Parisians’ fantastic defensive efforts up to this point, they would be breached only five minutes later as Torres deservedly got his name on the scoresheet. It was an opportunity created from a sublime pass from Marcus Rashford, leaving the striker with the simple task of guiding the ball past Chevalier, which he made no mistake in doing.
It already looked like there was a mountain to climb for Paris, who were without so many of their key attacking figures, as they now had to find a way back into this game.
But, as the half went on, the visitors began to grow into the game, creating more chances and creating some unease within the Barcelona backline. Bradley Barcola was beginning to threaten down the wing, but was struggling to threaten a mostly unworked Wojciech Szczesny.
Eventually, Paris did get their chance to strike, and they certainly did not waste it as Senny Mayulu levelled the encounter. Nuno Mendes made a brilliant drive forward, easing past three Barcelona players before laying the ball off to the Frenchman. Receiving the ball on the edge of the box, the 19-year-old remained calm and fired his effort into the back of the net.
The visitors continued to threaten for the remainder of the half, but unable to add to Mayulu’s strike, went into the interval deadlocked with their opponents.
Enrique’s men picked up where they left off in the second half, coming out of the blocks fast as they looked to take the lead of proceedings and make this a difficult night for Barcelona.
A nervy moment for the Parisians came on the hour mark as Nuno Mendes narrowly avoided a second yellow card. The full-back brought Yamal down on the edge of the box, but Michael Oliver opted not to show the red card.
This instantly sparked a change from the bench as Mendes was moved further up the pitch, as Lucas Hernandez came on to occupy the full-back role.
Barcelona should really have regained their lead minutes later as Dani Olmo’s shot was cleared off the line by Hakimi, who had saved his team from going behind for the second time on the night.
There were multiple changes made by both teams in an attempt to gain the ascendancy of the affair late on. Paris were the successful side in doing just this as they certainly looked the more likely to snatch the three points late on.
They did exactly this directly on the 90-minute mark as Barcelona’s high line was exposed, proving fatal for the hosts this time.
Hakimi broke forward, beating the high line before crossing the ball superbly towards substitute Goncalo Ramos. The striker buried his effort to earn all three points for his side at the death.
Barcelona, with only three minutes of injury time to respond, were condemned to a disappointing defeat at home.
On the other hand, it was a statement victory for PSG, who had beaten Barcelona away from home, without their full offensive might. Luis Enrique was visibly thrilled with the result, as the Spaniard will likely take a lot of the plaudits for this victory.
Player of the match-Achraf Hakimi
The Moroccan was a fantastic leader in a very youthful Paris squad on the night. He made two key contributions in the game, with both of these proving crucial to the final result.
His clearance off the line was a vital one, which kept the momentum in favour of the visitors. Olmo could have certainly done better, but Hakimi was there to ensure that the hosts would not retake the lead.
His offensive play also proved to be a decisive factor in this one as he played the cross to Ramos to win the game for Paris.
It was a night to remember for Hakimi, who put in a very mature performance when his side needed it the most.