Three takeaways from Barcelona 1-2 PSG | OneFootball

Barcelona did not have enough steam to get over the line against PSG last night at Montjuic, and a game that appeared set to end in a draw eventually ended in a win for the French champions with a goal in the 90th minute.

Both sides were missing crucial starters and entered the game off the back of a hectic schedule. PSG, however, were the better side over 90 minutes and deservedly won the game.

In what is absolutely uncharacteristic of the Catalans, they managed only 36% of the possession in the second half, and the statistic shows how they simply struggled to keep up with the French giants’ energy.

Eventually, they faced their first defeat of the season and have a lot to ponder about in the coming days.

Barça Universal brings you three takeaways from Barcelona 1-2 PSG.

First defeat of the season

On what was expected to be a special night for Barcelona and possibly mark their first win of the season over an elite European opponent, the Catalans fell short and dropped points, and it will now be remembered as their first defeat of the season.

In all honesty, however, the defeat was deserved for Barcelona as they were outclassed by PSG for the greater part of the game.

If playing at home was expected to have boosted their performance after a recent run of good form, the expectations were too high, for the Blaugrana relatively fell flat in the latter part of the game.

It was their physical preparation in which they ultimately fell short against the European champions, and it is clear that there is much to work on.

PSG, having played the FIFA Club World Cup until the final, had more steam in their tanks compared to Barcelona, and Hansi Flick has a lot to ponder about the physical preparedness of his team.

After all, as the game progressed, Frenkie de Jong and Pedri began becoming less productive, the forwards ran out of gas, and Barcelona simply could not get out of their own area.

An awful second half

Barcelona were found wanting in the second half. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

For the opening 30 minutes, the hosts were all over Luis Enrique’s side, and there appeared to be no two ways about the fact that Barcelona would take all three points.

De Jong and Pedri drove the ball through midfield with brilliant press resistance, the combination play left PSG helpless, and Lamine Yamal kept opening the opposition defence with relative ease.

After PSG scored the equaliser against the run of play, however, the dynamic changed and never returned to Barcelona’s favour.

Enrique’s men put pressure on Barcelona until the half-time whistle, and many would have expected a change in dominance after the break. However, the hosts never got back into the game.

In the second half, players disappeared from across the field with Yamal becoming uncharacteristically quiet and not influencing the game to any capacity, Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford looking tired, and Dani Olmo struggling to connect passes.

With De Jong and Pedri running out of steam, moreover, the team struggled to even retain possession or win the ball back, and it became clear that fatigue had set in, although it cannot be taken as an excuse, given that PSG have had a more hectic schedule.

Questionable substitutions

Over the past year, Flick has earned the right to be his own boss in terms of making substitutions and deciding the right windows for impact players to enter. Last night, however, was a rare occasion where his judgement fell short.

At a point where it appeared clear that Barcelona were inferior, struggling in retaining possession, and were pushed on the back foot, he delayed his changes too long and gave PSG more of the momentum.

Even when the German coach did finally opt to make his changes, he seemingly picked the wrong choices, especially in attack.

Instead of taking off Ferran for Robert Lewandowski, the manager opted to hook off Rashford, who was the team’s only potent transitional threat. The decision may have had to do with fatigue, but the team simply lacked any wide threat from thereon.

Further, the addition of Marc Casado did not help Barcelona’s attacking output as the midfield substitution clearly pushed the team into a defensive shell instead of bringing attacking firepower.

For the first time, Flick appears to have gone for safety and a draw over pushing for a win, and the result was a defeat.