Highlights: PSG 1-3 Barcelona; Suarez brace puts Barca in the driver's seat
Luiz Suarez scored two goals after Neymar had opened the scoring in the first half. Gregory van der Wiel’s shot was deflected into the Barcelona goal by Jeremy Mathieu, but it may prove to be nothing more than a consolation goal as the Catalans carry a massive advantage back home.
In the Champions League quarter-final at the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) were without star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was serving a suspension for a sending off he received against Chelsea in the previous leg. Energetic midfielder Marco Verratti was also out of the match due to a ban.
PSG had the post to thank early in the game when Lionel Messi’s shot hit the woodwork. The Argentine, then, found Neymar through on goal and the Brazilian made no mistake as he took a touch before placing the ball below the goalkeeper, Salvatore Sirigu, and into the net to give the Spanish side an advantage in the 18th minute. Their cause wasn’t helped at all when Thiago Silva had to be subbed off three minutes later.
In the remainder of the first half, Barcelona kept possession as PSG tried to hit them on the counter-attack, but both sides were unable to create any clear scoring chances and were restricted to long-range shots.
The second half saw the introduction of veteran midfielder Xavi, who came on in the 52nd minute for his 150th Champions League appearance after replacing Iniesta. Former Liverpool striker, Suarez, got on the scoresheet in the 67th minute when he showed a glimpse of his abundant talent. After nutmegging David Luiz, he beat Marquinhos and carried on despite Maxwell’s challenge and side-footed the ball into the net.
As if this goal wasn’t enough, Suarez scored another to seal the tie. His second was pleasing to the eye. After receiving the ball, the Uruguayan nutmegged Luiz once more and curled the ball into the side net.
Van der Wiel hit a volley towards goal, which looked like heading into Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s arms, but defender Mathieu miscued his clearance and the ball looped over the Barcelona goalkeeper to give the crowd something to cheer about.
The match petered out to a close and Luis Enrique was ecstatic once the referee blew the whistle for full time. With this result, Barcelona became the first side since 2006 to beat PSG at the Parc des Princes in European competitions. The return leg will be played on Tuesday night at the Camp Nou.