Barcelona’s run in the UEFA Champions League came to an end with a 1-1 stalemate at the Parc des Princes last evening. The aggregate scoreline at the full-time whistle was 5-2, and Ronald Koeman’s team were unable to turn the 4-1 deficit from the first leg.
Although a Round of 16 exit for a team of Barcelona’s stature is not even close to satisfactory, there were a few positives for the Cules to take back home. The second leg of the match seemed to bring out the best in Barcelona, but the mountain was too steep to be climbed in one night. Here are two talking points from the Catalans 1-1 draw from their trip to France.
Barcelona Vs PSG Talking Points
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi had a mixed evening at the Parc Des Princes with a sensational goal to his credit and also a missed penalty, all in the same half. It could have been a whole lot different for the Catalans had Messi converted the penalty in the first half. Barcelona eventually could not do much at the end of the ninety minutes and had to settle for a mediocre Round of 16 exit from Europe’s elite club competition.
The Argentine has carried the weight of the team for too long, and it seems to be taking a toll on his performances as well. It will be interesting to see what’s in store for the magician once the season comes to a close.
Team Effort
Barcelona as a team were a joy to watch even though the eventual scoreline did not reflect the same. The Catalans put in one of their best performances of the season. The players were motivated and determined to fight for the crest that was just above their heart. Pedri and Moriba were a joy to watch in midfield and went about their business effortlessly.
Ousmane Dembele was one of the weak links in the team, and it was hard to understand Koeman’s decision of letting him stay on the field of play for 75 odd minutes. De Jong and Busquets seemed to be giving it their all and almost got their team ahead on a couple of occasions. Barcelona have shown major improvements from the team that disappointingly started the season. Barcelona do have the Kings Cup to play for next month against Atheltic Club de Bilbao, possibly their only chance of winning silverware this season.
