UCL: Mbappe bags brace as PSG thrash Barca, Dortmund eliminate Atletico
A brace from Kylian Mbappe and a strike from Ousmane Dembele saw Paris Saint-Germain thrash Barcelona 4-1, in the Champions League quarter-final second leg tie in Spain.
It was a night to forget for Barcelona as Xavi, defender Ronald Arajuo, and even goalkeeping coach Jose Ramon de la Fuente sent off.
The LaLiga giants came into the second leg holding a 3-2 advantage from their victory in Paris last week.
They looked on course for the semi-final when Raphinha’s early strike put them 1-0 up on 12 minutes.
However, the tie turned on its head when Arajuo was shown a straight red card on 29 minutes for impeding Bradley Barcola as the last man back.
Former Barcelona man Dembele equalised with five minutes left in the first half.
Vitinha then put PSG 2-1 ahead on the night nine minutes into the second half.
Barca boss Xavi lost his head at how referee Istvan Kovacs had officiated the contest.
The Spaniard booted the advertising hoarding in front of the fourth official in frustration and his aggression saw him get sent to the stands.
Things went from bad to worse for the Catalans when Joao Cancelo dived in late on Dembele inside the box to give away a penalty.
Mbappe, who will likely be facing Barcelona as a rival player for Real Madrid next season, then made no mistake from the spot to make it 3-1 on 61 minutes.
Barcelona goalkeeping coach Jose Ramon de la Fuente’s protests saw him join Xavi in being shown a red as the club pushed for a way back.
But after committing players forwards, Mbappe got his second and PSG’s fourth goal on 89 minutes.
His second-half double meant Mbappe has now scored six goals against Barcelona in the Champions League – his most against any opponent in the competition.
PSG will now face Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals after the Germans ousted Atletico Madrid.
Dortmund lost the first leg 2-1 in Spain before triumphing 4-2 in the reverse fixture.
On Wednesday, holders Manchester City will host Real Madrid with everything to play for after the first leg ended 3-3.
At the Allianz Arena, Bayern Munich will hope to overcome Arsenal whom they held to a 2-2 draw at the Emirates.
