Four classic Champions League encounters between Barcelona and PSG
- Johnnie Victoria
- 15 February 2021
Barcelona face PSG in the Champions League on Tuesday evening. Planet Sport takes a look at four classic encounters from yesteryear...
Five-time UEFA Champions League winners Barcelona will face last season's losing finalists PSG in the Champions League Round of 16 this week.
Tuesday's clash will be the fifth time the sides will face each other in the knockout stage of Europe's premier club competition. And if the game is anything like the previous four times the sides have done battle, we're in for a cracker…
Barcelona 2-3 PSG, 1994/95 - Guerin goal sinks Barca dream team
The first meeting between the two sides took place in the quarter-finals in 1995, three years after the competition was rebranded to the UEFA Champions League.
Barca had won the competition for the first time in 1992 and were a particularly strong side in this period. This was particularly the case in the 1993/94 campaign, when they won La Liga and reached the Champions League final (which they lost 4-0 to AC Milan).
However, they failed to carry this form into the 1994/95 season, despite boasting some strong firepower in their squad. The likes of Romario, Hristo Stoichkov, Gheorghe Hagi, Pep Guardiola and Ronald Koeman all lined up for the Blaugrana.
For PSG, the biggest name on their team sheet was George Weah, who would go on to be the top scorer in the competition, as well as the recipient of the Ballon d'Or later in the year.
The first leg on March 1 was contested at Camp Nou in Barcelona in front of a staggering 115,500 fans. The hosts took the lead through a goal from Igor Korneev. However, the presence of so many passionate fans didn't seem to faze PSG main man Weah, as he equalised shortly afterwards. The game ended 1-1.
PSG star man George Weah celebrating scoring in the Champions League
In the second leg at the Parc des Princes in Paris, the visitors took the lead early in the second half with a goal from Jose Mari Bakero. PSG were down but not out and they found an equaliser in the 72nd minute thanks to Brazilian Rai.
As the game headed towards extra time, the hosts pushed and pushed, with the home crowd increasingly sensing a victory could be theirs. These hopes were justified when PSG found a winner in the 83rd minute through Vincent Guerin. This secured their first ever win in the Champions League knockout stage.
Their run came to an end in the semi-finals when they fell to AC Milan 3-0.
Barcelona 3-3 PSG, 2012/13 - New-look PSG provide challenge for Blaugrana
The two sides had to wait almost 20 years before facing off in the Champions League again. In the intervening years, Barca picked up three Champions League trophies, while this was PSG's first appearance in the knockout round of the competition since they last faced Barca in 1995.
While Barcelona had stayed consistently at the top in Europe, PSG saw only domestic cup success - winning five Coupe de France titles, three Coupe de la Ligue trophies and two Trophees des Champions up until their big money takeover in 2011. Their new owners gave the team a whole new life, setting them up for instant success.
The first leg of this quarter-final, which took place in Paris on April 2, 2013, was a hotly contested affair.
Barca lead at the end of the first half through a Lionel Messi goal in the 38th minute. The last 10 minutes of the game became very interesting as Zlatan Ibrahimovic equalised for PSG in the 79th minute. Barca then thought they had the game won when Xavi converted a penalty in the 89th minute.
Lionel Messi takes on David Beckham at the Parc des Princes
However, Les Parisiens had other ideas. French native Blaise Matuidi stole the win from Barca after putting away a ball knocked down by Ibrahimovic in the fourth minute of added time, securing a vital draw and an extra goal to take to Barcelona for the second leg.
One week later, both teams knew a goal either way could clinch the tie, and it was PSG who struck first through Javier Pastore in the 50th minute. This meant they lead 3-2 on aggregate.
Barca knew that a goal would put them back in front on away goals. In an effort to find it, they brought on star man Messi, who started on the bench due to a hamstring strain he had suffered in the first leg. His presence boosted the side and he contributed when Pedro found the back of the net in the 71st minute.
Barca knew if they held on, they would progress. And hold on they did. They withstood the attacks of PSG until the final whistle and ultimately progressed to the next round on away goals.
In the end, they may have regretted this though, with Barcelona losing to Bayern Munich 7-0 on aggregate.
Barcelona 5-1 PSG, 2014/15 - MSN sink Les Parisiens
Both teams were arguably at their strongest when they met in the Champions League quarter-finals in 2015. Barca's front three that year were immense, with the newly formed MSN connection of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar starting to really click. Meanwhile, PSG had the formidable duo of Edinson Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in attack.
The two teams had been drawn in the same group, meaning they faced each other four times all together in this campaign.
Barcelona and PSG embrace after the game at Camp Nou in Barcelona
Each had won their home games in the group stage - PSG 3-2 and Barcelona 3-1 - but Barca finished top of the group after PSG drew a group match against Ajax, while Barca won all their other games.
The two sides met in the quarter-finals once again and this time proved to be a lot more straightforward for the Spanish side. The first leg, despite being in Paris, got away from the hosts relatively quickly. Neymar got the opener in the 18th minute and Barca never lost the lead. Suarez was in inspired form, netting two goals in the space of 12 second-half minutes to take the game away from PSG. PSG got a consolation goal in the 82nd minute, through an own goal from Barca player Jeremy Mathieu.
The second leg was always going to be a daunting task for the Parisians as having to find at least two goals at Camp Nou against this Barcelona squad was always going to be a challenge. They couldn't rise to it.
In fact, it was the home side who got two goals, with Neymar providing the inspiration. He netted twice in the first half to knock PSG out once again as Barca progressed 5-1 on aggregate.
Barcelona went on to win the Champions League and became the first European team to win the treble twice after also tasting success in La Liga and the Copa del Rey. They first achieved this feat in 2009.
Barcelona 6-5 PSG, 2016/17 - Roberto seals greatest comeback
The most iconic of the match-ups between the two sides took place in 2017, and is arguably one of the greatest two-legged ties in Champions League history.
The first leg of this Round of 16 encounter was played at the Parc des Princes and was a cakewalk for the home team, with two goals from Angel Di Maria being supplemented by strikes from Julian Draxler and Edinson Cavani. Barca only managed a measly one shot on target for the whole game as PSG ran out 4-0 winners.
There were three weeks between the two legs and this may have contributed to what has come to be known as La Remontada or "the comeback".
The second leg started quickly, with Suarez opening the scoring in the third minute. It took some time, but they added a second thanks to an own goal from Layvin Kurzawa just before half-time. With the score now at 4-2, the comeback was very much on.
After the interval, Messi added a third, converting a penalty in the 50th minute. This set the score at 4-3, meaning the next goal was crucial. It was PSG who found it, with their talisman Cavani once again getting on the scoresheet in the 62nd minute.
Lionel Messi skipping through the PSG defence at Camp Nou
Barcelona, now needing three goals to advance due to the away goals rule, started throwing everything they had at PSG for the rest of the game. The French side held strong, however, even making opportunities of their own to put the tie to bed.
This was the case up to the 88th minute when Neymar sprung into life, guiding a superb free kick into the back of the net. This boosted Barca who, sensing doubt in the PSG ranks, kept pushing. This paid dividends almost instantly as a ball over the top to Suarez saw him go to ground in the box after contact with PSG's Marquinhos. Neymar calmly put the penalty away in the 91st minute, with three more minutes of added time to play.
With the score now 5-1 on the night and 5-5 on aggregate, it was still PSG going through on away goals. However, with 30 seconds left, Neymar chipped the ball into a packed penalty area, hoping to find someone. And find someone he did, as Sergi Roberto snuck through and remarkably put the ball into the net to win the game.
It was the first time in Champions League history that a team had been knocked out of the competition despite going into the second leg with a 4-0 lead. The media labelled the result "astonishing" and "a miracle".
However, as great a feat as this was, it did not amount to much for the victors. Barcelona were dumped out in the next round by eventual finalists Juventus.
