PSG take on the visitors Barcelona in the first leg of UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. The match will be played on Wednesday, April 10th at Stade des Princes (Paris).
PSG no longer resemble a Western European giant – they don't dominate at home even like Bayern does – but rather have become an Atlantic counterpart to the likes of Sheriff, Astana, or Ludogorets. They are all so much weaker on their home turf that no one takes games there seriously (or even gets particularly upset about failures) – the criterion of the season becomes how well they perform on the European stage. However, the goal for the project generously nurtured by money from Qatar has long been winning the Champions League. But they have only reached the final once, under Tuchel. Yet, they often stumble long before the decisive stages. In 2023, it all ended in the round of 16. After such setbacks, they parted ways with several aging stars, from Sergio Ramos to Neymar, and even bid farewell to Messi. However, they retained Mbappe, and lured Luis Enrique, who won the Big Ears, to the coaching position. Although they barely made it through the group stage, tying with Milan in the final points – they secured the second spot with additional metrics. But then, Kylian and company comfortably dealt with Real Sociedad. After scoring at home and then away, with two goals each, they only conceded a prestige goal in San Sebastian after that.
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Barcelona can only show something substantial here. The More Than a Club has been in turmoil for a long time and quite consistently. There was a bright spot a year ago when Xavi won the Super Cup, followed by La Liga. However, before that, his wards managed to finish third in the Champions League group for the second time in a row. Now it's the other way around: the blaugrana forced Xavi to publicly announce at the end of winter that he would leave in the offseason. The coach can be understood: there was a thrashing by Real in the Super Cup, a loss in extra time to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey, and things weren't going well in La Liga either, with the title slipping away. By spring, they at least stabilized in La Liga, securing second place – but Real Madrid had already pulled too far ahead. The Champions League remains, where a slip-up in the form of a defeat to Shakhtar did not prevent them from winning the group. Then came Napoli, and even though they changed their coach before the round of 16, the culers still proved stronger. They drew away and won at home.
The sides first clashed in 1995, and back then, the French were actually stronger. They also knocked out the culers in the round of 16 in 2021, with a resounding 4-1 victory at Camp Nou. Although there is currently complete parity: each side has four victories and as many draws. The odds suggest that the Parisians will win again. However, they are not perfect in defense, so it's worth considering a scenario where both teams score.
Prediction for the match: Both teams to score – yes.
