'Panic' costs Barca as Xavi unhappy with referee

Paris St-Germain is the sole team that has managed to score four or more goals against Barcelona in a Champions League knockout game. They have accomplished this feat twice in their history, with the most recent occurrence happening in 2021.

Barcelona had a solid lead of two goals added up and appeared to have things under control in Spain. However, everything turned out to be a mess.

The referee's poor performance, the players of Barcelona panicking and an unjustified expulsion were all pointed out as reasons for the eventful Tuesday night at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys when Paris St-Germain emerged victorious with a 4-1 scoreline.

The key moment in the Champions League quarter-final between Barcelona and PSG happened when Ronald Araujo, a centre-back for Barcelona, was given a red card. This decision changed the course of the game and allowed PSG to come back from a 3-2 deficit in the first leg, ultimately winning the tie 6-4 overall.

Kylian Mbappe scored twice, Vitinha's long-range shot found the back of the net, and Ousmane Dembele notched a goal against his former team, causing Barcelona to lose their composure and exit the tournament.

During the match, Barcelona made a lot of errors, which kept the referee, Istvan Kovacs, occupied. The Romanian official gave out three red cards to the home team. Xavi, the manager, let his frustrations get the best of him, resulting in his dismissal. Additionally, one of his coaching staff was also sent off due to their rebellious behavior. These actions only added to the trouble that had already been caused by Araujo's challenge on Bradley Barcola, for which he received a red card in the opening half.

Xavi expressed his dissatisfaction with the referee's performance and deemed it as a disaster. Although he disagreed with the referee's decisions, he acknowledged the impact it had on the season and felt it was necessary to mention.

We are extremely frustrated and annoyed as the red card ultimately determined the outcome of the game. When we had a full team of 11 players, we were in a favorable position, performing admirably and controlling the game.

Showing a red card in a game like this is excessive. There was still another game to play afterwards... It's unfortunate that an unnecessary ejection ruined all the hard work put in throughout the season.

When Araujo left the field early, PSG took advantage of the situation to gain momentum. This caused Barcelona to fall apart and allowed for a flurry of goals. Joao Cancelo made the mistake of fouling Dembele in the box, resulting in a penalty for Mbappe to convert - which ended up being one of his two goals.

According to CBS, Thierry Henry, who used to play for Barcelona, stated that making mistakes in the Champions League is not acceptable.

Winning the competition is exceedingly difficult as even a single mistake can result in immediate consequences, highlighting the importance of eradicating errors.

"Panic Never Leads To Victory"

Barcelona began their second leg on a high note by scoring a goal through Raphinha. The goal was made possible by a deflection from Lamine Yamal's cross, with the team having already claimed a 3-2 victory in their previous game against Paris.

However, Barcelona's advantage was short-lived and PSG dominated the second half, benefiting from Kovacs' cards.

Xavi expressed disappointment to CBS, stating that an entire season's worth of effort has been undone due to a call made by a referee.

I wish I had the opportunity to play 11 versus 11 against Luis Enrique and PSG throughout the entire match. I acknowledge that ejections occur in football, but in my view, Araujo's was unwarranted.

During the evening, 12 cards were displayed in addition to five goals, a penalty, and Ilkay Gundogan's shot that hit the crossbar in the second period.

However, the former forward Henry believes that Barcelona was solely responsible for creating the confusion.

According to him, Barcelona should have had one player sent off. The penalty awarded was indeed a valid penalty. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that they had to allow those goals to be scored.

The reason they let in the goals wasn't due to having one player less on their team. It was due to them getting anxious and flustered. No matter what your status is, you cannot attain any championship or become a champion when you get panicked. This is of no interest to me.

It's essential not to get overwhelmed during challenging scenarios as it may gradually affect you, your squad in the arena, leading to granting advantage to Paris St-Germain. This might result in disqualification from the contest.

When the game ended, the fans of Barcelona were crying in the seats. The athletes were on the ground, and Xavi, the coach, climbed down from his box to comfort his team.

Paris St-Germain is eagerly anticipating their fourth appearance in the semi-finals following Mbappe's leadership in their celebration in front of their away supporters.