Парис Сент-Жермен Аваргуудын лигт Барселонагийн ялалтын цувралыг зогсоолоо

Paris Saint-Germain dealt Barcelona their first defeat of the new season as the Champions League holders claimed another statement win by prevailing 4-2 in a thriller at the Parc des Princes.

Barca had begun the season on an 11-game winning run, taking maximum points from their opening two Champions League fixtures while prevailing in their opening nine LaLiga fixtures to tie a Spanish record.

But, for all their attacking threat, Barca were second-best in the French capital agains the two-time defending champions, who backed up their 4-2 away win over Manchester City last week with another scintillating performance.

Desire Doue gave PSG the lead late in a first half that saw Ousmane Dembele limp off for the hosts and Dani Olmo injured for Barcelona.

But Xavi Espart levelled for Hansi Flick’s side and, though Lucas Hernandez put PSG back in front with a rare goal, Barca looked set to take something from the game following a typically stunning individual effort from Lamine Yamal.

However, a sublime Vitinha strike gave PSG the lead for the third time, and they made sure it was not snatched away once again as a simple finish from Fabian Ruiz wrapped up the points. The victory for Luis Enrique’s side against his former club means it is three wins from three in the league phase for PSG, while Barca now have to hope a pulsating clash has not taken too much out of them ahead of this weekend’s Clasico with Real Madrid.

Champions League favourites Paris Saint-Germain prove fourmidable once again

PSG made a bright start as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia hit the post early on before Anthony Gordon wasted an opportunity to open the scoring at the far post at the other end.

Having survived that scare, greater cause for concern for PSG came when former Barcelona forward Dembele pulled up holding his thigh. The Ballon d’Or holder was quickly replaced by Ferran Torres, who left Camp Nou to join Luis Enrique’s men this summer.

Torres was denied the opening goal by the excellent Joan Garcia having latched onto a superb pass from Joao Neves.

Olmo joined Dembele in making an early exit as his injury led to the introduction of Fermin Lopez, which preceded further heroics from Garcia, who thwarted Torres and Fabian Ruiz with a stunning double save.

Barcelona continued to ride their luck, and they were fortunate to see Michael Oliver wave away claims for a penalty despite Espart holding Kvaratskheila for an extended period in the area.

PSG’s pressure told in the 43rd minute as Doue punished Barcelona for conceding possession deep in their own half, his vicious strike from the edge of the area flying beyond Garcia and finding the bottom-left corner.

Fermin was unable to swiftly restore parity when he failed to loft the ball over Matvey Safonov after being played through on goal, though the half fittingly ended with Garcia making a diving save to keep out Kvaratskheila’s curling effort.

Garcia was again called into action soon after the second-half restart to frustrate Achraf Hakimi, and PSG were punished for their profligacy when Espart proved the unlikely source of Barca’s equaliser.

Espart was played in down the right by a fine pass from Fermin, and his low near-post effort proved too hot for Safonov to handle.

Marquinhos and Kvaratskheila were both withdrawn through injury shortly before the hour mark, with PSG’s earlier dominance seemingly fading as Gavi and Joao Cancelo both drew saves from Safonov.

Yet only the woodwork prevented Torres from scoring against his former club as he cracked the near post from Hakimi’s low cross, and moments later Hernandez restored PSG’s advantage.

Hernandez beat Gordon in the air as he rose to meet Doue’s corner, doing so with a thumping header that flew into the top-right corner for his first goal since February, 2024.

That goal was soon followed by Hernandez exiting the stage as he was replaced by Warren Zaire-Emery, a substitution that looked to have backfired when Zaire-Emery misjudged a cross-field pass. His header fell nicely into the path of Yamal, who surged to the byline before producing an impudent finish with the outside of the boot as Safonov was again beaten at his near post.

Parity lasted just two minutes, though, as Barca’s defensive frailties haunted them once more. Their failure to properly clear their lines was ruthlessly punished by Vitinha, who chested down before lashing an unerring half-volley past Garcia.

And PSG then gained the decisive breathing room their performance deserved, Hakimi the provider as he delivered to the far post for Ruiz, who had the simple task of tapping home from point-blank range.

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