Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Paris' feeble revenge

In 2017 I watched FC Barcelona pull off an extraordinary comeback in the Champions League against Paris St. Germain. As FC Barcelona was facing PSG again, in the last-16, some were hoping for a repeat after FC Barcelona's humiliating 1-4 home defeat in the first leg. Although it was not to be (the match ended 1-1), I have to say that this is one of the few times I have admired a Barcelona side's spirit, as they kept trying to attack, and were largely unlucky not to get at least a narrow victory. There is a lot of criticism against Barcelona, rightfully, but what they showed today should give Barca fans some hope, as the youngsters are taking up the responsibility. 

And of course: they still have Messi. He seems a bit slower, and also seems less committed than we have seen him before. But he is certainly still an amazing player, and scored a splendid goal (but also missed a penalty kick).

In the meantime one may be able to excuse PSG: at home, but without fans, and with the advantage of having to defend a 4-1 lead, they were very poor; they defended well (with Keylor Navas and Marquinhos playing splendidly), but there was otherwise not much to show, and surely, if they are going for the title, will have to play much better than they did today. At least they got a feeble revenge for what happened four years ago!

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