Saint-Germain 'Exposes' Barcelona

French champions Paris Saint-Germain tightened their grip on Barcelona of Spain with a 4-2 victory in the third round of the unified group stage of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. At Paris’s Parc des Princes, PSG’s goals were scored by Desire Doue (38’), Luca Hernandez (72’), Portuguese winger Vitinha (81’), and Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz (86’). Barcelona’s goals came from Xavi Serrano (55’) and Lamine Yamal (79’).

The win marked PSG’s third consecutive victory in three matches of the prestigious continental competition this season, as well as their third straight triumph over the Catalan club in the tournament, and their second in the last five meetings at the Parc des Princes (one draw and two losses). PSG extended their lead at the top of the unified group, adding Barcelona to their list of victims, after securing a precious same-scoreline win against English side Manchester City in the previous round.

Conversely, Barcelona suffered their first defeat after two consecutive wins, and their first loss in 12 matches across all competitions this season. The setback came ahead of their traditional rivalry clash against Real Madrid in La Liga next Sunday.

PSG suffered a significant blow when Ousmane Dembele sustained a left thigh muscle injury and was replaced by former Barcelona player Ferran Torres (20’). Barcelona also endured a harsh blow as Dani Olmo was injured and replaced by Fermín López (26’).

Doue gave PSG the lead in the 38th minute by capitalizing on a headed clearance by Portuguese international Joao Neves aimed at Lamine Yamal, then struck it with his right foot from outside the box into the right side of goalkeeper Garcia’s net. Serrano equalized for Barcelona in the 55th minute after a pass-and-move combination with Lopez, who drove into the box and fired a powerful right-footed shot into the net.

PSG’s troubles deepened when Konstantinos Kouveliotis and Marquinhos were injured, making way for Magnus Akle and Ukrainian defender Illia Zabarnyi (59’). Hernandez restored PSG’s lead in the 72nd minute with a header from a corner taken by Doue. Yamal leveled for Barcelona in the 79th minute by exploiting a mistake from Warren Zaire-Emery, driving into the box and firing a left-footed shot into the net.

However, Barcelona’s joy lasted only two minutes. Vitinha capitalized on a clearance by Gerard Martin, heading the ball following a cross from Hakimi, and drove a powerful right-footed shot into the left side of Garcia’s net (81’). Ruiz delivered the final blow to Hansi Flick’s side by scoring the third goal in the 86th minute, finishing off an assist from Hakimi.

Meanwhile, Guinea international Serhou Guirassy returned Borussia Dortmund to winning ways with a brace in their 2-1 away victory against Azerbaijani side Sabah. Turkish club Fenerbahçe squandered their first win of the campaign, leading 2-1 against visitors Slavia Prague until the final minute, when the hosts conceded an equalizer.

Portugal’s Porto fell to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven 0-1 at home. Italy’s Napoli snatched a 4-3 victory over Norway’s Bodø/Glimt, securing their first win in the competition after two consecutive losses. Italy’s Roma regained their footing following a heavy 3-4 defeat to Spain’s Real Madrid, with a commanding 4-0 win over Slovak visitors Slovan Bratislava. The German-Spanish encounter between Stuttgart and Atletico Madrid ended in a positive 1-1 draw.