10 amazing facts from an incredible Paris Saint-Germain victory against Barcelona
Paris Saint-Germain made a statement in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against Barcelona with a 4-1 win at the Nou Camp, which put them in pole position to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick to put Barcelona to the sword, leaving Mauricio Pochettino's side in full command of the tie.
Lionel Messi scored a penalty in the first half to give Barcelona the lead in that game, but that was all the joy that the Blaugrana managed to get throughout the game.
Mbappe equalized in the 32nd minute and PSG took complete control of the game from there. The Frenchman added a second midway through the second half before Moise Kean scored just five minutes later.
The 22-year-old superstar then completed his hat-trick five minutes from time, as Paris Saint-German put to bed the demons from 2017, when they lost 6-1 in Barcelona to bow out of the competition.
Paris Saint-Germain destroy Barcelona at the Nou Camp
With Lionel Messi's contract situation still up in the air, we might well have witnessed the legendary Argentine's last UEFA Champions League game at the legendary ground.
In a way, it was also symbolic of Barcelona's struggles this season that they have lost their last two home games in the Champions League and conceded a total of seven goals in that period.
While there is talk of a symbolic passing of the baton from Messi to Mbappe, the Frenchman put on a show last night. It is also fair to say that Mbappe does love playing against teams that have Messi in them.
There was also another blast from the past that an alert Twitter user pointed out.
For Pochettino, who had coached Espanyol before heading to England, it was a lift-off for him in his PSG career. So far, his tenure has been marred by injuries to key players, which has left them a point off the top of the Ligue 1 standings.
Barcelona being poor shouldn't take away from how good Paris Saint-Germain really were. However, the Blaugrana were plagued by their key players not stepping up to the plate. Substitute Francisco Trincao provided a spark, but it was way too late by the time he came on to the pitch.
It hasn't been the best of times to be a Barcelona fan, with the club now almost certain to not win a trophy this season.
Barcelona are 2-0 down against Sevilla in the semifinal of the Copa Del Rey, so they face another huge challenge to get to that final and are hanging by a thread in Europe as well.