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PSG sends Barcelona home empty handed

By Praneet Shetty

PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 14: Playersof Paris Saint-Germain celebrate the victory with his fan during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg match between Paris Saint-Germain and FC Barcelona at Parc des Princes on February 14, 2017 in Paris, France. (Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 14: Playersof Paris Saint-Germain celebrate the victory with his fan during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg match between Paris Saint-Germain and FC Barcelona at Parc des Princes on February 14, 2017 in Paris, France. (Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images) /
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A marvellous performance from the team , especially Angel Di Maria helps PSG achieve a 4-0 win against 5 time Champions League winners, Barcelona.

Paris Saint Germain have been knocked out by Barcelona twice in the competition earlier but they seemed to be looking for revenge this time around. The Catalan club now has a Mammoth task of overcoming a 4-0 loss to PSG.

Birthday Boy Di Maria took an amazing free kick which gave PSG a strong start and they managed to hold on to the solid display till the final whistle.

As per the records ,  Unai Emery had faced Barcelona 23 times out of which he had won only one match whilst at Sevilla. Messi had scored 25 times in these 23 times Emery had played Barca and had only won when Messi was absent .

This caused people to predict that PSG would lose tonight too , but Emery was already making way for his second win against the Blaugrana club when Julian Draxler slotted home his debut Champions League goal for PSG. Draxler has now scored on his debut for PSG in all the competitions he has played in.

At half time , PSG had a 2-0 lead and at the break of the second half, things went from bad to worse for Barcelona. Di Maria scored another with his left foot and Cavani scored his 32nd goal of the season.

Di Maria was everywhere on the field and set up Europe’s current top scorer ,Edinson Cavani , only for his shot to be deflected by Sergi Roberto. Ter Stegen made a good save in the start denying Blaise Matuidi a chance on goal.

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PSG won a free kick just outside the box in the 18th minute when Samuel Umtiti clashed with Julian Draxler .. Di Maria lined up for the free kick and with a sublime kick nestled the ball into the back of the net , giving the Parisians the lead.

PSG’s desire to win the ball back and constantly attack Barcelona resulted in their second goal of the night , scored by January signing Julian Draxler. Verratti stole the ball from Lionel Messi and sprinted forward and played the ball to Draxler who was on his right and The new signing completed the job.

Andre Gomes was played in  by Neymar and had a decent chance but his shot was deflected away by a charging Kevin Trapp. Aside from that , The Catalans failed to make any impact or threaten the PSG defence.

The unexpected absence of Thiago Silva made people think that PSG might lose tonight. But youngster Presnel Kimpembe stood up to the role and played with a lot of maturity.

The Parisians were in excellent groove . Around the 55th minute , Di Maria picked the ball up and ran towards the box , avoided  couple of challenges and scored an amazing goal with his left foot.

A good run from Thomas Meunier down the field after avoiding Neymar resulted in the 4th goal when he passed the ball to Cavani who calmly slotted in his 32nd of the season.

The PSG midfield were at the top of their game making good plays and winning the ball at crucial points. Di Maria was substituted and he departed with a standing ovation from the fans.

PSG kept up the pressure on Barca.  One of Best chances The Catalans had in the game was when Umtiti  headed the ball against the post , but despite that ,Barcelona were unable to produce any goals as Suarez, Messi and Neymar were well-marked by the PSG defence.

This is the first time that PSG has kept a clean sheet against Barcelona . Even, Barca suffered  their heaviest defeat (4-0) for the fourth  time in the competition , previously against Milan 1994 , Bayern 2013 and Dynamo Kiev in 1997 ) and previously, no team in the Champions League has overturned a 4 goal deficit.

Both the Birthday boys , Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria scored making it a special win for them and the team.

Next: Barcelona have the inside track for Verratti

PSG play the second leg of the last 16 of the Champions League against Barcelona at Camp Nou on 9th March 2017 where they’ll have to put up a similar display in order to knockout Barcelona and progress to the Quarter Finals .

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