Kylian Mbappé was less than his best for the second week in a row against Barcelona, but his mediocre 180 minutes were rendered meaningless as he scored to send Paris Saint-Germain into the last four of the Champions League.
Although he had two stupid Barça players to thank.
France captain Mbappé was an unknown at best as PSG suffered a disappointing 3-2 home defeat to Xavi's masterclass at the Parc des Princes last week. However, he eventually got his teammates over the line, albeit again being quite underwhelming.
Before we get into that, I have to say a little bit about Ronald Araujo. What a stupid, stupid boy he is.
The Uruguayan could have been given the benefit of the doubt because he made a decision in the moment when a very fast footballer ran towards the goal, but we are not giving him that. His red card in the first half gave Barcelona a 4-2 aggregate lead and the tie was reversed.
Rafinha, who was the star of the show last week by scoring his first two goals in the Champions League, scored the opening goal of the night, pushing Barcelona into a two-goal tie for the first time. PSG looked threatened, but Barcelona were able to stick to the anti-tiki-taka game plan that had worked against Paris six days earlier.
That was until it became 10-11, which was absolutely avoidable.
As Barcola ran towards goal, Araujo decided his best bet was to beat Barcola just outside the box, which was the worst thing he could have done. There was no guarantee that Barcola would score in the one-on-one with Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and with the foul coming two yards short, there was no guarantee that Mbappé would score a penalty.
Even if PSG wins 4-3 on aggregate, Barcelona will want to qualify with all 22 players on the pitch.
With a two point difference and Luis Enrique's side having one more player, we knew the Blaugrana would make a big splash. very This is to prevent visitors from getting 2 points for not responding.
Eleven minutes after Arrajo was shown a red card in the 29th minute, former Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele sent in a cross from the brilliant Barcola, giving a scare to the entire team in the famous red and blue. Xavi's team looked incredibly exposed despite being at a natural disadvantage.
Mbappe had two big chances in the first half but was not forced into trouble. Barcola and Dembélé led PSG's attack, with Vicinha and Fabian Ruiz looking to influence what seemed like an inevitable comeback for the Parisians.
It was Vicinha who put PSG ahead on the night and leveled the score on aggregate, but Mbappe was still not feeling his best and Barcelona almost waved the white flag.
And then the second stupid thing of the night appeared, giving Mbappé the chance to prove his authority in the tie and keep alive his dream of bringing the Champions League to Paris for the first time.
Dembele didn't control his passes properly, which meant, in our eyes, that he wasn't going into dangerous areas with the ball. Joao Cancelo clearly felt that there was an immediate danger to Ter Stegen's goal. Ter Stegen blindly jumped in, leaving the referee with no choice but to award a penalty, which can only be given to one player.
When Mbappe stepped up, he smashed the spot-kick into the top corner, giving Ter Stegen no chance. When it comes to big penalties, it's right up there. By the way, did Kylian Mbappé score a goal in an all-white shirt for Barcelona? Something tells us we'll see more of it.
Opinion: Kylian Mbappé is a galactic pain, but worth it
No matter how badly Mbappé played in the 150 minutes before scoring the tying goal with eight bad guys, he still led his team in goals in total. Was he saved by Araujo and Cancelo? yes. Does he give a toss? Your Nellie doesn't have it. It was a clutch goal by a clutch player.
Barça tried to equalize on aggregate, but suffered a fatal red card after 29 minutes. That night, his team was losing 3-1, he was battered, bruised, and depressed, and his coach had been sent off for throwing a tantrum. That was a foregone conclusion.
Salt neatly rubbed Barça's wounds in the 89th minute, when none other than Mbappé ensured PSG's place in the last four of the Champions League and against group rivals Borussia Dortmund. Is that any consolation to you, Newcastle fans? I didn't think so. I would still be mad too.
We were about to call Jules Kounde the stupid third Barça boy who appeared to assist his French teammate, but when you look at the replays you see that his clearance bounced off Fermin's butt. , was shown to have hit squarely in the path of a very grateful Mbappé. He is PSG's worst player with both feet, which explains why they are two games away from Wembley.
Mbappe's dream of leaving Paris for Madrid remains alive after bringing the Champions League to the French capital. There is now no chance of Xavi remaining at the club beyond the end of the 2023/24 season.
Read next: Highest paid soccer players in the world: Ronaldo in first place, Messi in fifth place, Saudi Arabia dominates
