For weeks, the FC Barcelona management has been trying to persuade coach Xavi to stay. But the 44-year-old will not let himself be dissuaded from retiring at the end of the season – not even with a triumph in the Football Champions League, which the Catalans came one step closer to: FC Barcelona won the quarter-final first leg at Paris Saint-Germain with 3: 2.
A key to the away win was that Barca slowed down Kylian Mbappe: the French team player only managed to finish twice – without success. Raphinha chose a good time for his first two Champions League goals: first he gave FC Barcelona a 1-0 lead, and at 2-2 he benefited from the lucky touch of his coach and the sensitive foot of Pedri: Xavi Substituted the midfielder, who had just recovered from a thigh injury, and the 21-year-old provided the assist, which Raphinha also used excellently. Substitute Andreas Christensen scored the 3-2 with a header because PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was stuck on the line.
Haller gives Dortmund hope
There was also a joker at Dortmund: Sebastien Haller’s late goal (81′) preserved the chance of promotion in the 1-2 away win against Atletico Madrid, which had been reduced by defensive errors before the break: Ian Maatsen’s bad pass became an assist for Rodrigo de Paul 1:0 (4th), Samuel Lino’s 2:0 (32nd) was preceded by a misunderstanding between Mats Hummels and Nico Schlotterbeck. Only then did Dortmund (with Marcel Sabitzer) stop being so impressed by Atletico’s aggressive style. In the finish, Julian Brandt almost made it 2-2 (96th), he only hit the aluminum.
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