Barcelona v PSG live: Champions League holders face Luis Enrique’s old club in heavyweight clash

Oh my word. The first flashes of Lamine Yamal as he beats three, maybe four men before slipping it to Torres, who sees his shot blocked from just inside the box.

A couple of tricks in there from Yamal, including a pirouette to beat two defenders.

PSG start with that odd kick-off where they boot it straight out of play. Hopefully not a sign of things to come.

The referee gets us underway in Montjuic!

PSG are missing their entire first-choice front three but it feels like we’re in for a good game here.

The two teams are gathering in the tunnel at the Olympic Stadium, so we should be underway here soon.

“I am happy to come back, it’s my home. I spent a large part of my career as a player and a manager here,” said PSG boss Luis Enrique ahead of tonight’s match.

“It’s not the Nou Camp but it’s a beautiful stadium. I played here in the Olympic Games in 1992. It’s very special to be here.

“For us, it’s exciting to play against a team with the same mentality. They have a very good coach, who I have known for a long time. The coach and his players will want to put on a good match. The two teams are similar but the key will be in winning the ball back. The future is the match on Wednesday. We will try to prepare for it in the best way possible. In order to win, we will need to play our football well and be mentally strong. It’s a special match for both teams,” added the Spaniard.

Barca boss Hansi Flick said that his side will be “playing against the best team from last season, and it’s a big challenge”.

“PSG are a very strong team,” warned the German, before adding that his team are “really looking forward to” the match.

“I think we need to work on our game plan and what we want to do, like controlling possession and positioning ourselves well. But it won’t be easy, because they’re very good at that too.

“So from the very first second to the final whistle, we’ll have to play at our highest level. This is the Champions League and there’s no room for making mistakes,” he added.

Barcelona have only lost one of their last 12 home matches in the Champions League.

PSG have won their last four Champions League games by a combined scoreline of 12-1, and the last two by 9-0 combined.

Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski has only scored one goal in five Champions League appearances against PSG, with that lone goal coming in December 2017 for Bayern Munich. His minutes per goal ratio against the French side (450) is his worst against any opponent in the competition.

The Blaugrana sit at the top of La Liga after six wins and one draw in their opening seven games, with the Catalan side having opened their Champions League campaign with an away win at Newcastle.

Recent results include a 6-0 win over Valencia and, most recently, a 2-1 home win over Real Sociedad.

The European Cup holders started their defence with a 4-0 win over Atalanta on matchday one, and most recently they beat Auxerre 2-0 in Ligue 1. However, they did suffer their first defeat of the season just over a week ago, losing 1-0 to Marseille in ‘Le Classique’ at the Stade Velodrome.

Since winning three consecutive UEFA Champions League games against Paris SG in the 2014/15 season – all of which were with Luis Enrique in charge – Barcelona have only won two of their last six meetings with the French side in the competition (D1 L3).

PSG have won their last two games away to Barcelona, both by 4-1 scorelines in the Champions League (February 2021 and April 2024). If they win here, the French outfit will be the first team ever to win three consecutive away games against Barcelona in major European competition.

These two sides have faced off 15 times in European competition in the past, with Barcelona winning six, PSG winning five and four ending as draws.

The most recent meetings came in the Champions League in April 2024, where Barca won 3-2 in Paris before falling to a 4-1 loss at home, with Ronald Araujo’s early red card changing the result of the quarter-final.

Of course, these two sides are also responsible for producing one of the most memorable ties of all time, when a last-gasp 6-1 win at the Nou Camp secured a 6-5 aggregate win in the round of 16 in 2017.