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Raphinha scored twice before halftime, helping Barcelona defeat PSG 3-2 in the first leg of their UCL quarterfinal on Wednesday.
The Brazilian winger scored his first Champions League goal in the 37th minute to give the visitors a half-time lead at Parc des Princes, but PSG immediately turned the game around with two goals in the opening five minutes of the second half from former Barcelona player Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha.
Raphinha, however, restored parity for the Catalan giants with a superb volley midway through the second half, before substitute Andreas Christensen scored 13 minutes later, just seconds after coming off the bench, to give Xavi’s side a slim lead heading into next week’s second leg in Spain.
However, neither Christensen nor Sergi Roberto will be available for next Tuesday’s match against PSG, as both players will serve a one-match ban for accumulation of yellow cards.
Luis Enrique’s side got off to a good start, with Kylian Mbappe – who had a fairly quiet night – and Marco Asensio both scoring in the first ten minutes, but Barcelona eventually grew into the game and gained control.
Nuno Mendes saved Gianluigi Donnarumma’s blushes with an instinctive goalline clearance with his weaker right foot after the PSG goalkeeper failed to gather a corner kick after being beaten in the air by the towering Robert Lewandowski.
Donnarumma then produced a stunning one-handed save low to his left to tip Raphinha’s powerful 25-yard strike around the post, but the Italian did not celebrate eight minutes before halftime.
Lewandowski, Barcelona’s standout performance in the first half, launched a counter-attack and passed through Lamine Yamal on the right flank, before the 16-year-old attempted to repay the favour by playing an enticing outside-of-the-boot pass to his Polish teammate sprinting into the box.
Donnarumma sprinted off his line to intercept, but he could only tip the ball straight into the path of Raphinha, who slipped briefly before calming himself to slot a first-time right-footed strike high into the net.
PSG won the first 45 seconds, but Enrique’s half-time team talk worked wonders, as they somehow turned the game around within the first five minutes of the second half.
The hosts exploded out of the blocks and restored parity on the 48th minute when Dembele pounced on Ronald Araujo’s loose clearance inside the box, dropped his shoulder to fool Frenkie de Jong, and unleashed a powerful left-footed shot that flashed past a helpless Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Just two minutes later, PSG took the lead thanks to a well-worked passing sequence that saw Fabian Ruiz provide a perfectly-weighted through-ball down the right for Vitinha, who pushed a first-time finish beneath Ter Stegan’s outstretched arm and into the bottom corner.
Barcelona was astonished, and they had their backs against the wall as PSG tried for a third; Bradley Barcola, who replaced Asensio at halftime, came close to expanding the hosts’ advantage just before the hour mark, but Ter Stegen stopped his drive from a tight angle against the crossbar.
Xavi brought on Joao Felix and Pedri for the final half-hour in search of a much-needed spark in the final third, and the latter made an immediate effect by setting up Raphinha for his second goal of the night and eighth of the season, tying the game.
Just a minute after entering the game, Pedri received the ball in a central position from about 35 yards out and floated a delightful ball over the top of PSG’s backline to Raphinha, whose exquisitely controlled left-footed volley with the outside of his boot flew past Donnarumma and into the bottom corner.
Raphinha then bent a 25-yard free kick around a PSG wall, but Donnarumma denied him low down to his right, before Dembele opened up his body and fired a right-footed shot against the outside of the post after receiving a brilliant pass from Vitinha on the left.
With 15 minutes remaining, Xavi made another double substitution, bringing on both Ferran Torres and Christensen, and while the latter was not brought on to attack, the defender was in the right place at the right time to put Barcelona ahead just seconds later.
Christensen received Ilkay Gundogan’s dangerous inswinging corner from roughly six yards out, and with his first touch, he put a cushioned header into the heart of the goal, beyond Donnarumma’s grasp.
PSG fought for a late equaliser in the dying moments, but Barcelona limited the hosts to few clear-cut chances and held on for a well-deserved win in Paris.
Enrique’s side is not in domestic action this weekend, so they will focus only on next Tuesday’s second leg in Spain, while Barcelona travels to Cadiz for a La Liga match on Saturday.
