Why Barcelona beat PSG

Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League dreams may be at an end just one leg in to their quarterfinal tie with Barcelona after losing 3-1 at home. They never seemed to quite get in to the same gear as their Spanish opponents, and Lionel Messi and company were more than willing to put them to the sword for it.

 A brace from Luis Suarez and a first-half opener from Neyamr gave Barcelona three vital away goals in the tie and give them a massive, and likely insurmountable, advantage heading in to the second leg in Spain next week. PSG got a consolation goal late in the match, sure, but the odds of them overcoming a three-away goal disadvantage are very, very slim. If nothing else, hopefully Paris Saint-Germain will learn some valuable lessons from this display.

3 things

1. Barcelona’s attack is incredible – A year ago, Barcelona were clearly not at their best. They came so close to winning the La Liga title, yes, but if the team had played to its actual ability, Atletico Madrid would have been a fair ways behind Barca instead of lifting the trophy. This year, after bring in Luis Enrique and making some well-planned transfers to add Luis Suarez to the forward line and Ivan Rakitic to midfield, Barcelona’s attack has reached new heights. PSG just didn’t have much of a solution to the trinity of Messi, Neymar and Suarez, and it was something of a wonder that Barcelona didn’t score more than the three goals they managed.

2. Paris Saint-Germain aren’t in Europe’s elite yet – Make no mistake, PSG are a very, very good side. They fully deserved their win over Chelsea in the last round, and they’re comfortably the best side in France. But Barcelona showed them in a very resounding fashion that despite all their success and all their talent, PSG haven’t cracked that upper crust of the true elite clubs in Europe yet. The Parisians have the quality and the resources to join the Barcas, Real Madridsand Bayern Munichs on top of Europe’s footballing pyramid, but it’s going to take more work before they get there.

3. Barcelona may not be able to rely on Andres Iniesta for much longer – Iniesta has been a star of the highest order during his Barcelona career, helping lead the Spanish giants to some remarkable heights and spending a time as one of the very best players in the world. Over the last 18 months, though, Iniesta has been slipping, losing a step of pace and not having quite the same cutting edge he once did. At 30 years old, he should still have a couple good years left, but not every player ages the same way, and he may be declining early compared to most players. Even before he got hurt today, it was clear that Iniesta was struggling with the pace and athleticism of PSG’s midfield, something we’ve seen a lot more often of late. The next transfer window in which Barcelona can partake is in January of 2016, and it seems very likely that an Iniesta replacement will be at the top of their shopping list as things stand.

Sbnation.com

Maher Taki