Barcelona were comprehensively beaten 4-0 by French champions Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League last night
The Parisians were dominant throughout the match and Barcelona looked like a shade of the team that has been steamrolling opponents in recent weeks. Neymar and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen were the only bright sparks for the Catalans but could do little as PSG ran riot.
PSG simply seemed to know exactly what to do to stifle the Catalans and looked dangerous every time they had the ball. Speaking after the game, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique offered no excuses and conceded that Unai Emery’s side were simply better in every department on the night, but did feel that Barcelona could overcome the deficit at home.
“There’s a simple explanation,” he said, according to the club’s official website. “Our opponents were superior, they won a majority of the duels, and they were effective. The score reflects what happened in the game. We’re a team that has shown time and again that we know how to come up big. It will be tough, but we’ll have a chance.”
While Barcelona definitely have players in their squad who are capable of igniting such a comeback, it is difficult to see them do it against a PSG side that was so dominant and disciplined last night.
Unai Emery also has a fantastic record in cup competitions and guided Sevilla to three consecutive Europa League trophies before taking over at the Parc des Princes at the start of the season. His experience was on show last night as he got his tactics absolutely spot on against Luis Enrique’s side.
Angel Di Maria was particularly rampant last night and on the day he turned 29, picked up two fine goals first from a free-kick that Luis Suarez appeared to duck under and then with a fine finish from outside the area.
Julian Draxler also continued his fine run of form and scored his 5th goal in just 9 appearances for PSG. The German was another stand-out performer last night and was a constant threat on PSG’s left hand side.
Edinson Cavani – who also celebrated his 30th birthday last night – wrapped up the proceedings with 19 minutes to go and bagged his 34th goal in all competitions this season. The Uruguayan has thrived in the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and was impressive once more last night.
It is hard to see how Barcelona can come back from this defeat especially considering just how disciplined PSG looked last night. The Camp Nou is a difficult prospect for any team but if PSG play as well as they did last night Barcelona do not stand a chance of overcoming the deficit in the second leg.
