Player ratings as Raphinha brace helps Barca to first-leg victory

Barcelona edged a Champions League classic to take a slender one-goal lead into the second leg of their quarter-final with Paris Saint-Germain.

The reigning French champions were made to pay for a largely flat and naive performance, eventually succumbing to a 3-2 loss on home soil.

Xavi’s young guns held their nerve and ran out deserved winners at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night.

How the game unfolded

After an opening 20 minutes of half-chances coming to nothing, Barcelona nearly took the lead when Gianluigi Donnarumma failed to claim Ilkay Gundogan’s corner, and Robert Lewandowski’s header had to be cleared off the line by Nuno Mendes.

PSG wanted a penalty when Kylian Mbappe was taken out by Joao Cancelo when trying to reach a loose ball in the 18-yard box, but the offside flag had been raised. VAR also briefly reviewed the challenge for a potential red card as Cancelo’s boot was high and caught Mbappe on the ankle.

Just before the break, Barcelona went in front. Robert Lewandowski did well to beat the PSG press and spread play to Lamine Yamal, whose low cross escaped the hands of Donnarumma and fell kindly to Raphinha, and he was able to pick out the top corner after having time to set himself.

But within three minutes of the restart, PSG were level. Barcelona failed to deal with a fizzing Mbappe cross, with the ball falling to Ousmane Dembele just inside the box, and he rifled it into the roof of Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s net.

Almost immediately from the resulting kick-off, the hosts turned the game completely on its head. A lovely move down the right flank saw Fabian Ruiz slip in Vitinha, who poked it beyond Ter Stegen.

Barcelona looked to equalise straight away and should have at least troubled Donnarumma when Yamal’s cross found Lewandowski, but the ball bounced off the top of his head and ballooned back out of the penalty area.

Ter Stegen came to Barca’s rescue when he produced a fine save from Bradley Barcola, pushing his fierce attempt onto the crossbar at the end of a blistering counter attack.

Just after the hour mark, Barcelona made it 2-2. Pedri – only on for a matter of seconds as a substitute – floated a wonderful ball over the top of a sleeping PSG backline for Raphinha, who volleyed into the bottom corner with the outside of his left boot.

Ronald Araujo made a brilliant recovery challenge to deny a certain goal from Barcola having beaten Barcelona’s offside trap as the game headed into the final 20 minutes.

PSG rattled the woodwork again when…