PSG Edge Barcelona 4-2 in Champions League Thriller

Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain beat Barcelona 4-2 at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday night, underlining their status as the team to beat in this season's Champions League.

The turning point came in the 81st minute, when Portugal midfielder Vitinha — third in last year's Ballon d'Or voting — chested the ball down and fired in from outside the box to put PSG 3-2 ahead with the match poised at 2-2.

Minutes later, Fabian Ruiz sealed the 4-2 win with a close-range finish, giving PSG their third straight European victory this season. Luis Enrique's side are chasing a third consecutive Champions League crown.

Barcelona had earlier looked set to leave the French capital with a point when Lamine Yamal — a contender for this year's Ballon d'Or — made it 2-2 for the visitors. Desire Doue had opened the scoring for PSG, and Lucas Hernandez restored the lead after young talent Xavi Espart had levelled for the Catalans.

The defeat is a setback for Barcelona, though it is unlikely to seriously damage their chances of advancing in Europe's elite competition. The Catalan club arrived in France on an 11-match winning run in all competitions since the start of the season — a streak that has now ended, but their attack continues to find the net regularly. Yamal's goal was Barcelona's 50th of the campaign.

PSG, meanwhile, had won seven in a row across Ligue 1 and the Champions League, but they paid a price as both Ousmane Dembele — the reigning Ballon d'Or holder — and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia picked up injuries. Dembele went off in the 20th minute with a hamstring problem, while the severity of Kvaratskhelia's injury was not immediately clear.

Even so, Doue was the standout player of the match, and on current form Luis Enrique's men are seen as capable of going deep in this season's Champions League.

It was the 14th Champions League meeting between the two clubs in 13 years. For Barcelona, this may not even be the most important match of their week, as a home win over Real Madrid on Sunday would stretch their lead over their eternal rivals to nine points in La Liga.

That was also why Rodri — the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner — started on the bench, though Raphinha returned to the starting line-up after a spell out. PSG nearly scored inside 90 seconds when Kvaratskhelia hit the post, but they soon suffered a blow when Dembele limped off in the 20th minute with a hamstring injury. Ferran Torres came on against the club he left in the summer.

Barcelona also lost Dani Olmo to injury as the match grew tense. PSG took the lead in the 38th minute after a Yamal error — he lost the ball in his own half, allowing Doue to wriggle free and fire low into the far corner from outside the box.

The hosts deserved their half-time lead, but Barcelona levelled soon after the break when Fermin Lopez played in Espart, who broke into the box and scored the second goal of his professional career. Rodri then came on for Barça, but the game became increasingly open. Torres hit the post for the hosts before Hernandez headed PSG back in front from a corner.

Hernandez was picked to start to mark Yamal with regular left-back Nuno Mendes unavailable. The goal was only his third for PSG in more than 100 appearances, and his first since February 2024.

It was due reward for a strong Hernandez display, but he was substituted by Luis Enrique immediately afterwards, and his replacement Warren Zaire-Emery erred in Barcelona's second equaliser. He was drawn under the lofted ball, allowing Yamal to race through and score his 10th goal of the season.

PSG, however, had the last laugh. Vitinha made it 3-2 before Ruiz sealed the 4-2 win from close range, a reminder to their rivals that they remain the team to beat in Europe this season.