PSG 5-2 Chelsea ratings: Barcola unstoppable as Nuno Mendes struggles | OneFootball

Bradley Barcola lit up Paris Saint-Germain’s 5-2 win over Chelsea with his first Champions League goal in 13 months, while Nuno Mendes endured a torrid night that twice let the opponents back into the contest. L'Équipe’s ratings underlined Barcola’s standout display on his 100th PSG start and Mendes’s struggles.

Barcola struck on 10 minutes from João Neves’s lay-off, after Ousmane Dembélé had clipped a post on 15 minutes. Chelsea levelled on 28 minutes after Mendes’s poor repositioning, with Barcola failing to track Malo Gusto, before Dembélé restored the lead on 40 minutes from Désiré Doué’s assist moments after Matvei Safonov denied Cole Palmer.

The visitors equalised again on 57 minutes following Mendes’s misplaced diagonal and Warren Zaïre-Emery’s failure to track Enzo Fernandez. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia arrived on 62 minutes and Dembélé departed on 69 minutes grimacing, raising fresh doubts over his condition.

On 74 minutes Barcola’s pressing rattled Jorgensen and Vitinha produced a delightful control and lob. Kvaratskhelia then delivered a devastating cameo with two goals and an assist, and Achraf Hakimi set up the fourth at 90+4.

Safonov faced four shots on target and conceded twice, erring on the first by not using both arms, yet his sweeping and distribution were assured. Pacho was assertive and well positioned, while Marquinhos toiled within a plan that asked Hakimi to track Fernandez closely.

Neves was aggressive on his return and measured in his forward bursts. Zaïre-Emery grafted off the ball but lost control in possession and did not follow Fernandez for the 2-2.

Luis Enrique’s call to leave out Kvaratskhelia for Doué, Barcola and Dembélé paid off before the break, and the Georgian’s explosive introduction later made his changes look inspired.

Source: L'Équipe