Paris win thriller in Barcelona

Men's football•01 Oct 2025 21:00

Substitute Goncalo Ramos netted a 90th-minute winner as Paris came from behind to defeat Barcelona 2-1 in a thrilling Champions League match on Wednesday night in Catalunya. Ferran Torres opened the scoring in the 19th minute only for Paris to equalise before half-time when Senny Mayulu – superbly assisted by Nuno Mendes – coolly slotted home (38’). In a breathless second half, substitute Lee Kang-in hit the post before Achraf Hakimi set up Ramos for the winner.

Two weeks after beginning their European title defence with a 4-0 win over Atalanta BC at the Parc des Princes, the capital club made their first trip of the season to Spain with a young squad due to injuries to no less than five players that started the final in Munich in May. Returning to Catalonia and leading Paris for a record 31st UEFA Champions League match (one more than Laurent Blanc), Luis Enrique fielded a central defence of Illia Zabarnyi and Willian Pacho in front of Lucas Chevalier, with captain Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes in the full-back roles. In midfield Vitinha was flanked by Warren Zaïre-Emery and Fabian Ruiz, while Ibrahim Mbaye, Senny Mayulu and Bradley Barcola comprised the attacking trio.

In front of 50,207 spectators at the Montjuïc stadium, Barça started strongly, with Lamine Yamal releasing Ferran Torres whose shot was blocked by Hakimi (12'). From a Mendes corner, Zabarnyi headed just over the bar (14'), before the Ukraine international made a goal-line clearance to deny Ferran Torres (14'). The Spainish striker finally broke the deadlock, converting a Marcus Rashford cross from the left (19', 1-0).

Les Rouge et Bleu quickly lifted their heads, but Wojciech Szczesny made a spectacular save to turn Hakimi's free kick around the post (30'). However, it was only a matter of time, and Mendes, with a typically marauding run down the left wing, set up Senny Mayulu to celebrate his first start in the competition with an equaliser (1-1, 38'). Paris shifted up a gear and Barcola couldn't make the most of a great chance to to give them the lead heading into the interval (42').

After the restart, Paris really took the game to their rivals with Mbaye (52'), Barcola (53') and Hakimi (53') all coming close to giving their side the lead. The Rouge et Bleu skipper was outstanding in both attack and defence, producing another miraculous block on his line from a point-blank Dani Olmo shot (64').

The intensity and the tension continued to rise with each passing minute. Lee Kang-in, who had come on a few minutes earlier, went on a slaloming run, beating several Barcelona players only to see his shot bounce off Szczesny's right-hand post (84'). But Paris had not said its last word... Just before added time, Gonçalo Ramos secured a precious victory for his team by perfectly connecting with Hakimi's cross to send the 2,700 Parisian fans at Monjuïc into raptures (90', 1-2).

The final whistle confirmed the remarkable result that sees Paris Saint-Germain become the first club in history to win three consecutive games away to FC Barcelona! Les Rouge et Bleu's second victory in this league phase sees them move into third place in the table.

Paris win thriller in Barcelona

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