Barcelona entered the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys with a 3-2 victory from their initial encounter in Paris. Raphinha’s goal after Lamine Yamal’s skillful play gave them hope of reaching the semi-finals.
However, everything changed in the 29th minute when Ronald Araujo was shown a red card for fouling Bradley Barcola. PSG took advantage of the situation, putting pressure on Barcelona’s defense.
Joao Cancelo’s mistake led to Ousmane Dembele’s goal, and then he fouled Dembele in the box, allowing Kylian Mbappe to complete the comeback.
Xavi had aspired for his Barcelona farewell to culminate in a victory at Wembley after a 13-game unbeaten streak since he announced his departure in January. However, his hopes of a storybook ending were shattered when he was sent off for kicking water bottles on the sidelines.
Dembele, who was constantly booed by the home fans, delivered a performance that justified his status as Barcelona’s second most expensive signing at £135m in 2017.
When the 26-year-old made the switch to PSG last year, he was seen as Mbappe’s successor, but he is now beginning to showcase the attacking prowess needed to be compared to the player who, with 48 goals, has matched Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the 10th highest scorer in Champions League history.