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Barcelona takes on last year's beaten finalist; PSG, where Liverpool went on to lift the trophy. PSG have had their fair share of misfortune where the Uefa Champions League is concerned and they turned up on the night to put Barcelona to the sword.
It was a memorable night for Mbappe and the hat trick he got wasn't his first in the Champions League. He had one a couple of years ago against Club Brugge.
Barcelona went ahead first in the game in the 26th minute when Messi's long ball found De Jong and it looked like he was hauled down in the box. The referee pointed to the spot even though it looked like he tripped and clipped his own foot. Tiny margins can decide a game and maybe the VAR saw something we didn't see and Messi stepped up to take the penalty kick against Keylon Navas. Barcelona has missed their last 4 spot-kicks before this one in all competitions but this time around, Messi wasn't to be denied. He expertly dispatched the ball into the top right-hand corner of the net. It was a combination of power and precision.
Not to be behind for too long, PSG restored parity with a great piece of individual effort from Mbappe. It was a brilliant finish and Barcelona's defence was stretched and punished. It was a good control with good touches by Mbappe. He went for power and got his goal.
Griezmann should have restored Barcelona's lead in the 36th minute when Messi fed him with the ball and he broke through. Dembele was to his left but he opted to go all by himself. He had his effort but he missed narrowly. He would be kicking himself for this missed effort after the game, especially with that scoreline.
In the 49th minute, Mbappe broke through and the ball eventually found Moise Kean. He hit a brilliant shot but Ter Ste Gen expertly saved it. Even though the shot deflected he still brilliantly saved it. He dealt with that so well.
In the 65th minute, PSG caused Barcelona more problems even though Barcelona was the cause of their own problems on the night. Florenzi's ball into the box managed to find Mbappe who wasted no time in the box to unleash a wonderful shot. The VAR had to check to see if Florenzi was offside but he was ruled onside and the goal stood.
Having 2 goals away is huge in the Uefa Champions League and not to talk of 3 and Moise Kean made sure of that and got the reward his effort deserved in the 69th minute when a freekick from the left-hand-side found him and he produced a free header into the back of the net. 3-1 on the night.
Just when Barcelona couldn't think it could get worse, it did and in the 85th minute, Mbappe got his 3rd goal and the 4th for PSG when a brilliant counter was started and Draxler found Mbappe at the edge of the box. Mbappe did the rest when he produced a right-hand top corner finish. It was a combination of placement and power. He got his hat trick on the night to put Barcelona to the sword and a mountain to climb.
Barcelona has found themselves in similar situation before and it took Lionel Messi and Neymar to overturn the huge deficit that time and it remains to be seen how Barcelona would surmount this challenge this time around but football is full of surprises.
It was Mbappe's night and he would be absolutely thrilled to see his side have the advantage away from home. The second leg is loading and it would be an interesting clash.
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