Barcelona vs PSG as it happened: Luis Enrique's men defy history to reach Champions League quarter-finals
Re-live all the action from the Nou Camp
Barcelona suffered an emphatic 4-0 defeat in Paris two weeks ago but outgoing coach Luis Enrique is confident his side can “score six” to advance in what would be the most remarkable second-leg comeback in the history of the competition.
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Your support makes all the difference.No team has ever overturned a 4-0 first-leg deficit and Paris Saint-Germain won’t give up their advantage easily at the Camp Nou.
Barca have been off the pace this season, leading to Enrique to confirm he would leave at the end of the season, but they were back to their best on the weekend, scoring five goals against Celta Vigo – the amount that is required on Wednesday night.
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Vital Information…
The game kicks off at 7.45pm on Wednesday 8 March. BT Sport 2 will be providing coverage.
Form Guide…
Barcelona: WLWWWW
PSG: WWDWWW
Team news…
Barcelona have new injury worries for what could be Enrique’s final Champions League as their manager, with only defenders Jeremy Mathieu and Aleix Vidal remaining sidelined.
PSG have received a triple boost ahead of the game with midfielders Adrien Rabiot, Angel Di Maria and Thiago Motta all available and have travelled to Barcelona after recovering from their respective injuries.
Player to watch…
Lionel Messi. There are goals that need to be scored for Barcelona and Messi will be the centre of everything on Wednesday evening. Luis Suarez and Neymar will work off him but with the hosts needing at least four goals to take the game to extra time, you can be sure Messi will be in full attacking flow to ensure it happens.
Best stat…
Barcelona have progressed past the round of 16 in each of the last nine seasons, the longest run ever in the competition. The last time they failed to reach the quarter-finals was in 2006-07 against Liverpool.
Odds…
Barcelona to win: 8/15
PSG to win: 19/5
Draw: 19/5
34 min: Penalty appeal? Iniesta looks to play Neymar in behind the PSG defence but completely overhits his pass. The Brazilian forward knows he's got little chance of meeting it and throws himself at Meunier in a bid to convince the referee he was blocked. The ref isn't having any of it and waves on play. Nice try.
36 min: Yellow card for Busquets after pulling down Rabiot. That was long over-due...
38 min: A pause in play as Moura receives treatment on the deck after clashing with Rakitic. He's quickly back up on his feet though and the game gets back under way.
GOAL! Barcelona 2-0 PSG (Kurzawa OG, 40 min):
That was absolute chaos, but it's a goal nonetheless and Barcelona will have fresh belief! A dinking ball over the top of the PSG back four sought to play in Iniesta behind who gave chase on the left-hand side of the box.
Marquinhos rushed in and should have easily dealt with it as the pair rushed towards the byline but, somehow, the Barca captain managed to pull off the cheekiest of back heels, sending the ball towards the near post. Up stepped Kurzawa and with a wild leg knocked it into his own net from just two yards out. 2-0!
45 min: Free-kick for PSG just inside Barca's own half. It's pumped forward but there's far too much on it and an unchallenged Ter Stegen reclaims possession for the hosts.
45+2 min: Iniesta picks out Messi inside the PSG box with a sublime, low-driven pass but he's immediately swarmed by three white shirts. The Argentine tries his best to turn his body and get a shot on goal but he's snuffed out and the danger is subsequently cleared.
HALF-TIME! Barcelona 2-0 PSG (2-4)
What an entertaining first half of football this has been. After Suarez's early opener, it really seemed like Luis Enrique's men could defy the odds and fight back to overhaul the initial four-goal deficit. But as the game settled, so too did PSG and despite Barcelona's overwhelming possession, the hosts looked unable to capitalise on their early momentum. But with five minutes to go before the break, that all changed thanks to Kurzawa's calamitous own goal. Mission impossible? Far from it. Game on.
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