Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain took impressive strides towards the Champions League semifinals as both sides emerged victorious from the first leg of their quarterfinals.
Barcelona, by many estimations the favourites to win the competition, justified their lofty status with a dominant 4-0 win over Borussia Dortmund. Raphinha turned home for La Liga's leaders midway through the first half, poking home the already goal bound header by Pau Cubarsi off a wide free kick.
The visitors had their openings, largely spurned by Serhou Guirassy, but spent most of their time on the back foot and could not have been surprised when Robert Lewandowksi netted goals number 28 and 29 of his 27 meetings with his former club. Lamine Yamal added the fourth with an elegant chopped finish. Barcelona are surely bound for the last four.
Meanwhile in Paris, the hosts were similarly on top early on but were undone by one counter, Morgan Rogers turning home Marcus Rashford's cross. If that spooked PSG it was not immediately apparent, the outstanding Desire Doue bending a stunning effort into the far post.
That was to be bettered in the second half, a brilliant ball roll giving Khvicha Kvaratskhelia the space to drive away from Axel Disasi and fire Luis Enrique's side into a 2-1 lead they never looked like giving up. Instead they added a tie-changing third at the death, Nuno Mendes cutting in and striking to double the Parisians lead heading to Birmingham next week.
Paris Saint-Germain 3, Aston Villa 1
Barcelona 4, Borussia Dortmund 0
A 2-1 first leg deficit might have been manageable for the Villains. That late goal rather feels like it for Unai Emery's men though. Surely they can't beat one of the best teams in Europe by two clear goals?
A hammer blow for Villa. They're going to need something remarkable at Villa Park after Nuno Mendes sent Emiliano Martinez sprawling to get the third in added time.
The Spaniards are bound for the semifinals, surely?
This game isn't done, let alone the tie. Digne has the ball in his hand for a long throw and you're suddenly struck that PSG are not a particularly big side defensively, particularly without Marquinhos. Disasi wins the header but can only direct it against the side netting. This looks like something to keep an eye on for leg two.
Lamine Yamal, how do you do the things you do on a school night!? Lewandowski steals the ball on halfway and Barcelona are away. Raphinha slips in his fellow winger and although the finish looks straightforward on first viewing it gets better every time you see it, a flick into the turf Mesut Ozil style that lifts it over the diving defender and past Kobel.
But the offside flag is up, much to the relief of Emi Martinez, who sees the PSG captain drill a fierce strike through his legs. However Hakimi had gone a little too soon to claim the through ball. Villa remain alive in this tie.
And that's the end of that chapter. Another fine strike from Lewandowski and it looks like the game and the tie are done and dusted.
This is turning into a paddleing. Every PSG pass flies five or more yards forward. There's so many blue shirts in the Villa third, there's always an option between the lines. Kvartskhelia in particular looks to be in tie-killing mood, a fine block denying him his second and a PSG third. Best case scenario for Villa now might just be they suffer no further damage.
There's a reason they call him Kvaradona. That is simply sensational. Kvaratskhelia gets in the ball in the left channel and goes at Disasi, who can only just about show him wide. No matter, a gorgeous ball roll and a thundering strike against post and crossbar that leaves Martinez without a prayer. That's the best goal you'll see this season.
The front three click in glorious fashion. Yamal drives infield off the right flank, Pedri finding him in space because duh, and spots Raphinha at the back post. The cross is hung up and begs for a header but all the Brazilian can do is loop the ball across goal. It's more than enough and Lewandowski is on hand to turn home against his former employers.
Up and running in both games. These should be cracking! Axel Disasi replaces Matty Cash, no great surprise the Villa right back is taken off given he was on a yellow and defending Kvaratskhelia.
Well that was more very good Champions League football. Barcelona have looked well on top but still gave Borussia Dortmund, and in particular Guirassy, a sniff or two. PSG hadn't really allowed anything for Villa but they got done on one excellent counter. Unfortunately for Villa, Doue took that personally.
Well that didn't last long. Just when you started thinking that perhaps there was something here for Villa, who had just seen Martinez turn a mistake into a brilliant save. Then Doue dances infield on his right foot, gets a little nudge from Rogers but responds by whipping the ball into the far corner. That is as good a goal as you'll see this week... even if you saw those Rice free-kicks.
A brilliant breakaway from Villa. John McGinn charges through pressure down the right channel and spreads it wide to Rashford. He holds his width and gets himself a crossing position. A low driven cross is perfectly directed to the back post, where Rogers is waiting to turn in.
It's all PSG in terms of possession and territory but they're trying to break down a pretty disciplined 5-4-1, barely 10 yards between its deepest and highest points as Villa do what Emery teams do on the road in European competition. Luis Enrique's men are being funnelled wide, where they're free to pump as many crosses in as they wish. If Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa spend the next hour defending high balls they'll be delighted.
It's been coming. Barcelona's pressure tells from a free kick on the right channel. Inigo Martinez heads it back across, Cubarsi gets the first touch to divert it goalwards and Kobel is beaten. Raphinha slides in for no reason other than to steal the goal -- I suppose you might generously call that a striker's instinct -- and gets it.
A long VAR check has him worrying that he might really have messed up but the Brazilian always looked onside. The hosts lead.
In the Parc des Princes, eight separate PSG players have had as many or more touches in the attacking half as the entire Aston Villa team, whose first sniff of the final third is when Donnarumma slaps at a free kick from deep, but the ball rolls away to Morgan Rogers, who can't quite pick out a team mate. It must be exhausting for the visitors and they haven't even reached the 15 minute mark.
Same for Dortmund, who are being bullied down the flanks. Yamal in particular looks dangerous, one devastating shuffle down the byline forcing a shooting spot for him. Still maybe there will be more openings for the visitors in black and yellow. Brandt delivers a really nice cross from the right channel. Guirassy can't quite reach it.
Doue looks in the mood from the outset, drifting in from the right to create an early opening for Dembele. There's space for him to drive into but rather than keep the move going he instead shoots from too far out. High and wide.
Next time out PSG are a little more patient, moving the ball nicely around the box until Dembele hands off to Vitinha, whose low drive goes through plenty of bodies before being held by Martinez, whose every touch is being greeted by Parisian boos.
Kick off is moments away in both games!
You have to go all the way back to December for the last time Hansi Flick's Barcelona lost a football match, a 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid. Indeed their record in their last 14 is awe-inspiring, 12 wins and two draws, much of the improvement coming in defense even as Raphinha and Lamine Yamal continue to dominate in attack.
As for Dortmund, well, it's not exactly been great this season. Niko Kovac was parachuted in in February when Nuri Sahin struggled to make an impact and so far the returns under the new boss have been mixed. Two strong wins is an encouraging sign, at least it is until you realise that Dortmund haven't won three straight since last May, where they somehow overcame Paris Saint-Germain home and away. That was one of those remarkable, implausible games that Dortmund seemed to traffic in last season. They'll need a couple more of those if they are to overcome Europe's best side.
It's back to Paris for Aston Villa boss Unai Emery, the one place where his reputation for excellence in European football is probably given short shrift. After all it was when Emery was PSG manager that they were on the receiving end of La Remontada, the stunning 6-1 win for Barcelona in the second leg of the 2016-17 Champions League round of 16, enough for the Catalans to overturn a 4-0 first leg deficit. Emery might have won seven trophies in two years in the French capital but it is that disaster that he is most remembered for.
The man in the Barcelona dugout that night? Luis Enrique, the man who looks better placed than anyone, certainly Emery, to end PSG's wait for a first Champions League title.
PSG XI: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Beraldo, Pacho, Mendes; Fabian, Neves, Vitinha; Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia
Subs: Safonov, Tenas, Kimpembe, Ramos, Lee, L. Hernandez, Mayulu, Barcolo, Zaire-Emery, Mbaye
Aston Villa XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Tielemans, Kamara, McGinn; Rogers, Ramsey; Rashford
Subs: Olsen, Proctor, Disasi, Mings, Barkley, Watkins, Asensiom, Maatsen, Onana, Bogarde
Barcelona XI: Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez, Balde; De Jong, Pedri, Fermin; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha
Subs: Pena, Kochen, Araujo, Gavi, Ferran Torres, Fati, Torre, Christensen, Pau Victor, Eric Garcia, Fort, Gerard Martin
Borussia Dortmund XI: Kobel; Ryerson, Can, Anton, Bensebaini; Nmecha, Chukwuemeka, Brandt; Adeyemi, Guirassy, Gittens
Subs: Meyer, Lotka, Yan Couto, Ozcan, Reyna, Beier, Duranville, Svensson, Sule, Watjen, Kabar
What drama that was! A thriller in north London where Declan Rice became the first player in the history of the Champions League knockout phases to score two free kicks in the same game, the first two he'd ever scored in professional football. With Mikel Merino adding a third this was the night that Arsenal flipped the switch on Real Madrid, dominant individual displays earning them a swing at the decisive moment.
Meanwhile in Munich, Lautaro Martinez did much the same, an incisive play by the Argentine setting Inter on course for a 2-1 win at Bayern Munich. There could yet be twists in that tie but a win on the road really has the Milanese giants extremely well-placed to reach the semifinals for the second time in three years.
Good evening and welcome to the second night of quarterfinal first legs in the Champions League. We've got two cracking games ahead of us, arguably the two best teams in the field looking to take a big stride on the path to Munich. Barcelona welcome Borussia Dortmund to Catalonia and should be confident of winning well, as ought to be Paris Saint-Germain as they host Aston Villa in the French capital. This should be a straightforward night, right? We thought the same yesterday.
