Late Vitinha and Ruiz Strikes Sink Barcelona as PSG Win 4-2 Thriller; First Defeat of the Season for Flick's Side

Paris Saint-Germain beat Barcelona 4-2 in a dramatic Champions League league-phase match at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday night. Twice the Spanish club came back to level, but in the end they had to accept defeat — their first loss of the season.

Barcelona had arrived in France unbeaten: nine La Liga matches without defeat, two commanding wins in the Champions League, and 11 consecutive victories in all competitions at the start of the season. That sequence is now over, ended by the side that has won the Champions League in each of the last two seasons.

The hosts attacked from the start. Inside 90 seconds PSG almost scored as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia hit the post, but they were dealt a blow as Ousmane Dembele — last year's Ballon d'Or winner — came off after just 20 minutes, pulling up with a hamstring injury. Ferran Torres replaced him, facing the club he left in the summer, who themselves then lost Dani Olmo to injury as the action was interrupted.

The opening goal came in the 38th minute following an error by Lamine Yamal — he gave away possession in his own half, and the ball came to Desire Doue, who showed superb footwork before firing low into the bottom corner from just outside the area. PSG were worthy of their lead at the interval.

Barcelona drew level soon after half-time. In the 55th minute Fermin Lopez released teenager Xavi Espart, who drove into the box and fired in his second senior goal. Rodri, the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner who had surprisingly been left on the bench at kickoff, soon entered the fray, while Raphinha was back in the starting lineup after a recent spell out.

The game became increasingly unbridled. Torres hit the post for the hosts just before Lucas Hernandez headed them back in front from a Doue corner in the 72nd minute. The defender had been called into the side to mark Yamal in the absence of usual starting left-back Nuno Mendes; the goal was just his third for PSG in more than 100 appearances, and a first since February 2024.

That crowned a fine performance for Hernandez, but he was substituted moments later by coach Luis Enrique, and replacement Warren Zaire-Emery was at fault for Barcelona's second equaliser. In the 79th minute he got caught underneath a high ball, allowing Yamal to run away and stab in his 10th goal of the campaign — Barcelona's 50th goal of the season in all competitions.

The parity lasted barely two minutes. In the 81st minute Vitinha — who came third in last year's Ballon d'Or ranking — controlled the ball on his chest and fired in from just outside the box to make it 3-2.

Then, in the 86th minute, Fabian Ruiz scored from Achraf Hakimi's pass to seal PSG's third victory in as many matches in this season's competition, as they aim to win the Champions League for the third season running.

PSG have now won seven games in a row between Ligue 1 and the Champions League — fresh from winning 4-2 at Manchester City last week. But they lost both Dembele and Kvaratskhelia to injury on the night, and it remains to be seen how seriously hurt the two attackers are, although Doue was the real star of the show and Luis Enrique's team are well set to comfortably reach the knockout phase at this rate.

For Barcelona, the defeat is a setback, albeit not one likely to seriously hurt their prospects of advancing in Europe's elite club competition — the goals keep coming. This was the 14th meeting of the teams in the Champions League in the last 13 years, and for Barcelona it was probably not even their biggest game of the week: beat Real Madrid at home this coming Sunday, and Hansi Flick's side go nine points ahead of their great rivals in La Liga.