Ranking Barcelona performance from a phenomenal PSG win

PSG 2-3 Barcelona - Champions League

(Apologies for the lateness, 97 Passes was busy celebrating Eid yesterday)

Barcelona beat PSG! In Paris! It was a riveting quarter-final first-leg where Xavi’s young side showed their mettle on multiple occasions, survived the Mbappe maelstrom and came away with a fully deserved victory.

To put into context just how big this result was, Barcelona’s last win in a Champions League quarter-final was in March 2019 when they smashed Manchester United home and away. 2019! Lamine Yamal was 11 years-old!

Anyway, despite the tightness of the scoreline this was a comprehensive victory for the visitors where they were in control bar a 10 minute spell at the start of the second-half. With that in mind… IT’S TIER LIST TIME AGAIN!

D Tier

João Felix, Ferran Torres and Fermin Lopez

Barcelona’s subs (well, most of them) came on and added legs, energy and effort. This is what Xavi needed from them and they provided it. João Felix came close to getting into C Tier, but his execution was too sloppy. So they all get D. Solid pass.

João Cancelo

The Portuguese full-back was fully involved in multiple phases of Barcelona’s play and even managed to be halfway decent defensively. However, he played with the intelligence and executon of a drunk teenager behind the wheel of a car. So many attacks died because of Cancelo’s poor decision-making. One failure to square to Lewandowski was criminally bad. Hence D Tier.

C Tier

Sergi Roberto

The Barça skipper was relentless in his work-rate in Paris. Filling in for the unfit Andreas Christensen he shielded the defence reasonably well and offered some very calm play in possession. He didn’t set the world alight, but he was very solid. His only mistake was getting booked, meaning that he misses the second-leg.

Lamine Yamal

El Prodigi had a mixed bag of a match against PSG (later explained by Barcelona as him suffering the after-effects of a stomach bug). His movement was razor ship, his dribbling absolutely sensation and considering he’s a skinny 16 year-old, his defensive effort in shutting down PSG was exemplay.

Moreover, his trivela cross caused the panic that led to the opening goal or Barcelona. But besides that one magical moment, he did not use the ball well in the final third, messing up easy crosses and passes like you’d expect actual 16 year-olds to do. So it equalises out to a C Tier performance. You’d expect him to do better next week.

“I am just another Barcelona fan. Happy and proud, but this is not over. We are halfway through the movie. It is a great victory away from home after many years, but this is not over. We have a very difficult game in Barcelona.” — Xavi

Andreas Christensen

With PSG in the ascendancy, Barcelona subbed on Andreas Cristensen for the just returned to fitness Frenkie de Jong. Ridiculously enough, Christensen then scored the winning goal just 72 seconds later! It was his first touch!

He didn’t actually play all that well besides that goal, and even got booked to ensure he misses the second-leg and Barcelona have to host PSG without either of their two first-choice defensive midfielders. But scoring the game-winner is still amazing, so let’s say top of C Tier.

B Tier

Marc-André Ter Stegen

Barcelona’s shot-stopper extraordinare played superbly against PSG. He made diving saves, stretching to his maximum. He also made those easy saves where the ball seemed to be shot right at him every time (positioning — it’s great!)

He was helpless on Dembélé’s strike but perhaps could have done more for Vitinha. Regardless, this was an impressive display of goalkeeping in a hostile environment.

Frenkie de Jong

For the first time in over a month, Frenkie de Jong took to a football field to play. An ankle injury sustained against Athletic Club has kept him out since early March, but you would have never guessed it from watching him stroll around the Parc des Princes.

Whether he was throwing in blocks, winning the ball back or shifting it around quickly to keep Barcelona in possession, Frenkie was doing it all. This was quintessentially Frenkie, and one can only expect better from him next week with more minutes in his legs.

“One of the things that makes me most happy is the personality in the face of difficulty, which was something we were missing this year. All the footballers have done an extraordinary job and, It's what I'm most proud of.” — Xavi

Ilkay Gundogan

The Treble-winning midfielder brought his talents to Barcelona in the summer and is making the most of playing for his dream club by putting in a series of incredible displays, with his performance against PSG the latest.

Gundogan’s ability to evade the press with quick changes of pace to burst into spaces confounded the Parisiens. They simply couldn’t get a hold of him and as a result, Barcelona were pinging the ball around with precision with their gallant German conducting the orchestra.

Gundogan also produced the winning assist with a delightfully guided corner, dropping the ball on the six yard line right onto Christensen’s head — his 4th assist in Europe this year. He was great, but not especially so beyond the assist. Top of B tier.

A Tier

Pedri

Pedri only had 29 minutes on the pitch at Paris. His first minutes since getting injured in the same game Frenkie did. After a month out with a hamstring problem, he was only fit enough for a short cameo. But what a cameo!

Just over a minute after coming on, he received the ball in midfield about 30 yards from goal and then beautifully lofted it over the PSG defence right into the path of Raphinha who volleyed home to draw Barcelona level.

It was a staggeringly good assist. A Messi-esque straight pass where the straightness of the angle would seem to preclude a pass of that weight and spin. Nevertheless, Pedri is a magician and, having conjured that goal from nowhere, proceeded to play superbly for the rest of the time he was on, completing all his passes as he snatched control of the match away from PSG.

Easy A-Tier.

“Xavi told me to go in with a mental mindset, to push up. It was a moment in the game when they were being superior. I came in with a lot of desire to contribute to the team and I got that pass right to Raphinha.” — Pedri

Ronald Araujo

Barcelona’s defensive colossus was always going to be needed to come up big to keep PSG at bay, and guess what? He did! Not only was he excellent in defending a terrifying PSG attack, but he did so while walking a yellow card tightrope where one booking would have seen him miss the second-leg.

He would have been S-Tier — because honestly he was so good — but his clearance in the build-up to PSG’s first goal, while not to blame for the goal, was pretty bad and contributed to the equaliser. So we’re down to A-Tier.

Pau Cubarsi

The Boy Wonder of the back-line was at it again! Despite dominating Victor Osimhen in the previous round, you had to once again worry about him because dealing with Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé is a terrifying prospect.

Yet #CuBaresi rose to the challenge of handling these attacking geniuses and completely shut them down. Dembélé had to run across to the other side of defence to get any joy and whenever Mbappé ran away from Jules Koundé, Pau Cubarsi — the youngest defender to start a Champions League quarter-final — shut the door in his face. And of course his passing was at its typically nerveless level; the brilliant move for Barcelona’s opening goal all started with a sensational Cubarsi pass ripping through lines of PSG press. This kid is absolutely preposterous, but he was slow to react when Vitinha ran through to score PSG’s second, so A-Tier.

“He is at an extraordinary level at 17 years old. I'm running out of praise: he wins duels, he competes like an older player, he doesn't have his back. Playing with teenagers is what makes me happiest.” — Xavi

Robert Lewandowski

Barcelona are probably not going to win La Liga this season mostly because Robert Lewandowski spent half a season flouncing around like a useless zombie. However, since Xavi announced he was leaving, Lewandowski has stepped it up.

PSG’s press is pretty relentless, and playing through that is a risk. It’s a risk Barcelona are often willing to face but sometimes they want to avoid the risk, but how? Well, you can go long. However if you’re going to do that then your striker has to dominate the opponents and win the ball the majority of the time or that thing is coming right back at you and the pressure will mount.

Well, Lewandowski did just that. His finishing was off, sure, he had an inexplicable miss with a great headed chance in the second-half and that’s why he’s in A-Tier, but his hold-up and link play was sensational. His driving run in the lead-up to Barcelona’s opener was brilliant, and all game long he bossed the PSG defence with his power and movement, pulling Barcelona up the field with him.

A suspension now gives him a week of rest before he has to do it all over again in Barcelona, before going to Madrid for El Clásico a few days later. He’s had a rough season, but here are two games where Robert Lewandowski can place a huge marker down to establish himself as a Barcelona legend.

S Tier

Jules Kounde

Kylian Mbappé had registered at least 1 shot on target in his last 11 Champions League home games coming into last night’s game. He had 39 goals across all competitions. He had scored in seven straight games against Spanish opponents and with a move to Real Madrid on the horizon looked set to cook Barcelona.

Then Jules Kounde showed up.

He may not like playing right-back, but at least in Barcelona’s system he is exceptionally good at it. Both defending but also driving forward with the ball.

The French defender started the season in world-class form before a knee injury seemed to wreck him — even when he was fit again, he wasn’t playing well. But over the last month he’s found his world-class level again and when facing up to his compatriot Mbappé showed no fear and gave nothing away.

“I think we have stopped PSG very well, not just Mbappé. A lot of coverage. We have pivoted very well. Ronald and Jules have been aware of the unmarking behind their backs and defense has been key.” — Xavi

Kounde was sensational in tracking the lightning bolt movements of Mbappé, dealing with him physically but never being overly aggressive. It was incredible how he blanketed his opponent, delivering a flawless defensive display that all but neutralised PSG’s greatest attacking threat, making everyone else’s job so much easier.

Now do it again next week, Jules!

Raphinha

Raphinha has been a perplexing figure since joining Barcelona. He’s a Brazilian winger who can’t dribble! It just a bizarre combination of skills that don’t match!

However what he is more than able to do is work hard defensively, make persistent runs behind defences, and score goals. Which makes it all the more confusing that he hadn’t scored in the Champions League before the PSG match.

Well, he’s certainly scored now! One goal with either foot, for good measure! His first saw him follow up neatly, catching the ball after Lamine Yamal’s cross was spilled by Gianluigi Donnarumma. However with the ball on his right-foot you’d expect him to fluff his lines as he has so often up to now, but no! He guided it beautifully into the back of the net beyond despairing defenders.

The second was bafflingly brilliant. Raphinha made a run behind the PSG defence, something he had done so many times before, and Pedri found him with an inexplicably good pass. As the ball reached the Brazilian he could have done any number of things, but he chose the most difficult and delirious, cutting across the ball with the outside of his foot and volleying it low into the bottom of the net!

“He is a different and differential player due to his potential. He is one of the best players in the world in space. He finishes a lot, he has a goal. He gives us dynamism, he launches the pressure, he is intense, he has many virtues and his main virtue is that to look at the team. I'm very happy for him, he deserves it. Very proud.” — Xavi

A massive goal, bigger and better than any he had ever scored in Barcelona colours. And it was the cap on what was otherwise a brilliant display. Admittedly it was a display that was light on dribbling, but his movement was ceaseless, coming off the line and picking up pockets of space with incredible intelligence. Linking play, pressing with diligence and threatening the back of PSG’s defence.

As good on the left as he was on the right, Raphinha showed himself as the man for the big occasion with a display that just might save his career in Barcelona. Versatile, hard-working and seemingly lacking in ego — he seems the perfect compliment to Lamine Yamal, whether as an alternative on the right or a wing partner on the left.

Now he just has to reach this level more consistently (something he more or less admitted himself in a startling display of honesty and ambition post-match) and Barcelona will have themselves a serious player!

“Is today’s performance the best of my career? No, it still needs to come.” — Raphinha