Flick: 'El Clásico' Significantly Affected the Lineup Against Paris!

Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain of France sealed their place in the next round by defeating Spain’s Barcelona 4-2, while England’s Liverpool overturned a deficit to eliminate Spain’s Villarreal 4-3, and Manchester City crushed Greece’s AEK Athens 5-1 in Matchday 3 of the unified group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

At the Parc des Princes in Paris, Paris Saint-Germain’s goals were scored by Desire Doue (38), Luca Hernandez (72), Portuguese midfielder Vitinha (81), and Spanish forward Fabian Ruiz (86). Barcelona’s goals came from Xavi Serrano (55) and Lamine Yamal (79).

The victory marked Paris Saint-Germain’s third consecutive win across three stages of the prestigious continental competition this season, as well as their third straight triumph over the Catalan club in the tournament. It is also their second win in their last five home matches against Barcelona at the Parc des Princes (one draw and two losses).

Paris Saint-Germain strengthened their position at the top of the unified group, adding Barcelona to their list of victims, after Barcelona had previously secured a valuable same-scoreline victory over Manchester City in Matchday 2.

Conversely, Barcelona suffered their first defeat after two consecutive wins, and their first loss in 12 matches across all competitions this season. The setback comes ahead of their traditional rival Real Madrid in the upcoming La Liga Clásico next Sunday.

Barcelona’s German head coach, Hansi Flick, stated that international midfielder Rodri would return to the starting lineup for Sunday’s Clásico against Real Madrid, after being rested and not starting in the match against Paris. Flick explained that the Clásico had a “significant” impact on his squad selections.

He added, “But I also saw many positive aspects. For me, it was an excellent test for us, and you also saw the mistakes we need to correct to improve.” He continued, “We must learn from this match. It is October now, and titles are not won at this time. The UEFA Champions League is decided in June.”

Flick reiterated that the Clásico had a “significant” impact on his team selections.

Barcelona also lost the services of international midfielder Dani Olmo due to injury in the French capital; he will be sidelined for a month.

In another match, a hat-trick by Phil Foden restored Manchester City’s continental balance, with goals in the 34th, 65th, and 76th minutes. Elliot Anderson had opened the scoring in the 12th minute, French midfielder Ryan Cherki scored the third goal in the 57th minute, and Albanian striker Stavro Bilja scored the only goal for the visitors in the 52nd minute.

Guinean international striker Serge Gnabry led his German club Borussia Dortmund back to winning ways with a brace in a 2-1 away victory against Azerbaijan’s Sabah.