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Desire Doue, Lamine Yamal and Vitinha scored superb individual goals as Champions League holders Paris St-Germain (PSG) overcame Barcelona in a breathless encounter at Parc des Princes on Tuesday night (Nigeria time).
After starring in PSG’s victory against Manchester City last week, Doue opened the scoring in the 38th minute in a half that saw both sides miss several clear chances.
Teenage full-back Xavi Espart drew Barcelona level early in the second half with a rifled near-post effort, before PSG defender Lucas Hernandez powered in a towering header.
Lamine Yamal made it 2-2 with a genius near-post finish, but less than two minutes later Vitinha sent a volley into the bottom corner to reclaim the lead for PSG.
Fabian Ruiz put the result beyond doubt five minutes later by converting Achraf Hakimi’s low cross at the back post, in a win that ends Barcelona’s 11-match unbeaten run at the start of their season.
The Parisians had wasted little time in implementing their high-pressing gameplan to force Barcelona into several mistakes in the early stages.
The game was 79 seconds old when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia struck the foot of the post after Pedri was dispossessed, before Doue and Ousmane Dembele were denied by Barca goalkeeper Joan Garcia following high turnovers.
It was then Barcelona’s turn to launch their own rapid attacks, but Raphinha could only fire straight at Matvey Safonov in the PSG goal after running on to a neat Anthony Gordon pass.
Garcia had a busy end to the half as he twice denied former Barcelona team-mate Ferran Torres – who replaced the injured Dembele – but the goalkeeper could do nothing about Doue’s opener.
After PSG intercepted a Barca ball out from defence, Doue drove to the edge of the penalty area and rifled a low shot into the bottom left corner.
Minutes before half-time Fermin Lopez was thwarted in a one-on-one situation by Safonov, but 10 minutes into the second half Espart, 19, beat the Russian goalkeeper at his near post after bursting into the box.
Barcelona were starting to look the more likely side to claim a winner, but, moments after Torres hit the post following a quick counter, Hernandez planted a header past Garcia from a corner.
Out of nothing, Lamine Yamal then turned Warren Zaire-Emery, sprinted into the box and squeezed the ball in between Safonov and the post.
Just as the momentum looked to have swung in Barca’s favour, Vitinha controlled a clearance with his chest before launching a stunning volley into the bottom corner, before Ruiz put the seal on an exhilarating match.
PSG have nine points and will next face Villarreal in Spain on Tuesday, 3 November.
Barcelona remain on six points and will host Aston Villa at Camp Nou at the same time.
Ngumoha Inspires Liverpool In Comeback Win
Rio Ngumoha provided the spark as Liverpool came from two goals down to beat Villarreal at Anfield in the Champions League, Tuesday.
Andoni Iraola’s side endured a dismal opening half-hour but were given hope by Alexis Mac Allister’s goal before Ngumoha set up Barca loanee Ronald Araujo to level on the brink of half-time.
Eighteen-year-old Ngumoha then did superbly to tee up Mac Allister after the break as Liverpool hit the front for the first time, before Florian Wirtz scored his first club goal of the season.
Ultimately, Iraola’s side made it three wins out of three in Europe, but they did not make things easy for themselves.
Iraola made six changes from the win at Brentford on Saturday, with Alexander Isak, Bradley Barcola and Wirtz among those dropping to the bench, and Liverpool were punished instantly after a sloppy start.
Renato Veiga played a long ball that Virgil van Dijk should have dealt with, but the captain’s header back to Alisson was weak and intercepted by Georges Mikautadze, who finished with his left foot to give Villarreal the lead.
Nathan Saliba then played a simple ball through the heart of Liverpool’s defence and Sergi Cardona slotted past Alisson to send the 700 travelling fans wild.
Iraola’s side got one back in the 36th minute when Mac Allister headed in from Kostas Tsimikas’ corner, then Araujo got on the end of a delightful dinked ball from Ngumoha to draw Liverpool level.
Araujo was replaced by Wirtz for the start of the second half, with Ryan Gravenberch moving to right-back and Liverpool were much improved thereafter.
Ngumoha went past Cardona and provided Mac Allister with a tap-in to give Liverpool the lead, before Wirtz doubled Liverpool’s advantage with a left-footed finish.
There was a late scare when Tani Oluwaseyi got on the end of Ayoze Perez’s ball to make it 4-3 but Liverpool held on.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Vitinha (right hand stretched out) fires in from the edge of the box as PSG retake the lead late on.
RESULTS OF MATCHES PLAYED IN UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TUESDAY 20 OCTOBER:
*Fenerbahce – Slavia Prague 2-2
*Sabah Baku – Dortmund 1-2
*AS Roma – Slovan Bratislava 4-0
*FC Porto – PSV 0-1
*Liverpool – Villarreal 4-3
*Manchester City – AEK Athens 5-1
*Napoli – Bodo/Glimt 4-3
*PSG – Barcelona 4-2
*Stuttgart – Atl. Madrid 1-1
