Barcelona Looked Unstoppable; Then They Saw PSG

On Tuesday night, on the outskirts of central Paris, inside Parc des Princes, we witnessed a thrilling six-goal fixture between two formidable clubs. Paris Saint-Germain — the defending back-to-back Champions League title-holders — came out victorious in a 4-2 victory against Barcelona, and the evening gave us magical pieces of individual brilliance. From Desire Doué’s opener to Lamine Yamal’s surge inside the box and Vitinha’s half-volley finish, there was magic across the 90 minutes. But in the end, the French giants came out victorious in a battle that perfectly exemplified the football equivalent of the irresistible force paradox, or better known as an immovable object facing an unstoppable force. ​It’s important to paint a picture of the current moment, as times in France have been marred by violence and unrest due to nationwide protests as a result of school conditions, teacher shortages, and poor infrastructure, so the worry was whether this match would go on at all as more important issues are at stake. But the interior ministry confirmed the go-ahead for the fixture, and for one evening at least, football gave joy to the French with a resounding victory against a Spanish side who, up to this point, had been beating opponents with nothing left to spare. ​But tonight in the French capital, the Catalans met their match as the loss came against a team led by one of its own, the wonderful Luis Enrique — who loves Barcelona more than himself. ​But more on him in a moment. Let’s get back to these two giant clubs. ​The argument — and it’s the correct one — is that PSG and Barcelona are arguably and currently the best two teams in Europe, and in this match, there was little room to dispute the statement. From the 30-man list of the Ballon d’Or nominations, 13 of them play for both these sides. The talent is undeniable. ​From a managerial perspective too, we are talking about two magnificent tacticians. For Barça, there is the German Hansi Flick, who is a daring, high-press aficionado constantly encouraging his side to move rapidly up the pitch with little consideration for what happens defensively. He has been a major reason for Barcelona’s domestic success; this season, they average four goals a match, which is just unbelievable. But in Europe? The Champions League dream for Barcelona continues, as the Catalan club has not won it since 2015–a side back then that had the famously dangerous MSN consisting of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Neymar Jr as it achieved the historic continental treble. An objective led by … yup, you guessed it: Luis Enrique, PSG’s manager. ​There are not enough superlatives to describe this man’s genius. In my opinion, he is the best manager in the game because what he has done with PSG is not just about omnipotence going forward, but it’s about the collective will of his players and how hard they work when they don’t have the ball. And much like his friend and former teammate Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique is not obsessed with possession as much as he is with recovering it. ​And that’s what makes PSG so threatening. Their intoxicating press makes it almost impossible for the opponent to build momentum, and I think tonight’s biggest problem for Barcelona was rhythm. Part of it was Rodri’s absence in the first half, and the hosts took full advantage, pushing the game at every given opportunity. ​In fact, PSG earned 10 shots on target in the first half, which, per Opta, is the highest number against Barcelona since 2003-2004. Had it not been for Joan García, the damage at the break could have been worse than 1-0, a goal scored with absolute beauty by the aforementioned Doué. Both sides collectively delivered 40 shots in total, but PSG led with 22, almost always pushing the fixture to its side. ​The thing about this match is that it reminded me of Jurassic Park, where Barcelona’s Tyrannosaurus Rex fought hard against PSG’s velociraptors. The French side simply has too many weapons, even when Ousmane Dembélé had to come off injured. Barcelona couldn’t handle the aggression; it was overwhelmed by its adversary, and even though their hopes rose slightly thanks to Xavi Espart’s goal in the 55th minute and the incredible Lamine Yamal netting another one in the 79th, Flick’s side could not cope. ​And this is PSG. A formidable monster, or rather a group of them, who want nothing more than to maul your very core. ​And not even Barcelona can escape.