Barcelona suffered a memorable meltdown as they lost control and ultimately their place in the Champions League. Thirty minutes into their second leg against Paris Saint-Germain, the Catalan side were in a position of complete control. Raphina’s 12th-minute strike had put Xavi’s side 4-2 up on aggregate. Onlookers were happy to see the young talent of Lamine Yamal and Pedri combining with the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Ilkay Gundogan, and then a door opened for the visitors.

Ronald Araújo first gave away the ball before he was shown red for bundling over Bradley Barcola from the resultant chance after 29 minutes. Referee Istvan Kovacs was convinced of his decision despite fierce protestations from the defender, and VAR confirmed it. Former ace Ousmane Dembele narrowed the deficit just five minutes before half time, and things did not improve in the second period. Vitinha’s strike saw the scorelines level on aggregate and Barca nerves fraught.

Xavi did not take kindly to how things were developing. There was no shortage of verbal frustrations, and he was quickly given his marching orders. Dembele proved problematic again as Joao Cancelo brought him down inside the area, and Kylian Mbappe made no mistake from the spot. Gundogan was denied a penalty and received a yellow card for his frustrations as a tempestuous meltdown continued throughout the team.

Barcelona’s goalkeeper coach Jose Ramon de la Fuente, picked up the third red of the night such was his frustration and surprise that the decision did not go his team’s way. A dramatic 30 minutes or so indeed. The pain did not stop there for Barcelona however as Mbappe rounded off the night with a goal in the 89th minute.