Vitinha stars as PSG overcome Barcelona: “I’ve been dreaming about it all week”
Barcelona 1-4 Paris Saint-Germain (4-6 agg)
Portuguese midfielder Vitinha was again one of the stars of the show, as Paris Saint-Germain overturned a first-leg deficit to see off Barcelona and book their place in the Champions League semi-finals.
Having scored in the first leg in Paris last week, Vitinha repeated the feat at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, where a first-half red card for Barcelona defender Ronaldo Araujo proved decisive in swinging the tie in the visitors’ favour.
Barcelona took a 3-2 advantage into the second meeting on home turf, and things looked to be going according to plan for Los Cules when former Sporting winger Raphinha put them a goal up on the night in Catalonia. However, Araujo’s dismissal for what was judged a deliberate foul on Bradley Barcola just outside the area changed the tie.
By half time PSG were level through Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha evened up the aggregate score in the 54th minute with a superb low shot from distance. The French champions maintained their momentum and a brace from Kylian Mbappe secured their passage into the last four of the competition, where they will meet Borussia Dortmund.
“It’s incredible the feeling to score here,” Vitinha said after the final whistle. “I've been dreaming about it all week. To score and help the team. And above all, win. We are in the semi-finals and we have a lot of merit. We are very happy. The supporters were behind us but apart from them not many people believed in us. The coach told us that we are going to win the match in our heads. And that's what happened, we recovered the goals deficit. We stayed calm. To win 4-1 here is incredible.”
Vitinha has been in remarkable form for PSG this season and he was inevitably singled out for praise for his role in the victory.
L’Equipe wrote:
“As in the first leg, Vitinha was the big man in this match for the Parisians along with Ousmane Dembélé. The Portuguese gave the advantage to his team by scoring the second goal, as he had at the Parc des Princes. But this one was even more decisive in terms of hope.
“Vitinha was the metronome of the Parisian game with a presence in all areas, while also being decisive in the equaliser for his team just before half-time. It is he who perfectly creates the gap for Bradley Barcola to be on the penultimate pass for Ousmane Dembélé's goal. The Portuguese took on an extraordinary dimension in these two matches against FC Barcelona by being in most of the good moments but above all was everywhere on the pitch. He became the key man in the collective balance created by Luis Enrique as a virtuoso.”
"It's a dream come true, but we want more."@GuillemBalague catches up with PSG goalscorer Vitinha after their comeback win in Spain ???? pic.twitter.com/yyguadNJjI
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By @SeanGillen9