Barcelona shell-shocked after 4-0 thrashing at PSG

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique admitted his side’s Champions League hopes are all but over for this season after they were outclassed 4-0 by a brilliant Paris Saint-Germain in their last 16 first leg on Tuesday night. Angel di Maria scored twice for the French champions on his 29th birthday at the Parc des Princes, while Julian Draxler and Edinson Cavani — on his 30th birthday — were also on target in a stunning home performance. The result leaves PSG on the brink of a place in the quarter-finals for the fifth season in succession, while Barcelona are staring at their earliest exit since losing to Liverpool in the last 16 in 2007. It was the Catalans’ worst night in Europe since their 7-0 aggregate mauling at the hands of Bayern Munich in the 2013 semi-finals, and no team has ever gone through after losing 4-0 in the first leg of a European tie. “It is difficult to explain. They were superior to us from the start,” admitted Luis Enrique. “There was a 15-minute spell in the first half in which we were on top, but otherwise PSG attacked quickly on the break and created a lot of chances. It was a disastrous night for us. They were completely superior. There is not much more to say.” Di Maria, the former Real Madrid winger, opened the scoring with a free-kick in the 18th minute and Germany star Draxler marked his European debut for the club with the second goal five minutes before the interval. Di Maria curled in his second and the home side’s third 10 minutes after half-time before Cavani completed the rout with his 34th goal of the campaign in the 71st minute. “PSG did what we expected them to do and produced their best version and we were at our poorest,” the Barcelona coach added. “It’s extremely difficult for us now but we go back to our stadium and really we need a heroic performance but why not dream? These players have shown down the years that they can get great results. Our chances are slim but there is a chance all the same.” History suggests their chances are less than slim and the tie is PSG’s to lose now after what was a signature European performance from the French champions. They had twice been eliminated by Barca in the four seasons prior to this, but their 3-1 home defeat to the Catalans in 2015 was their only loss in their 42 previous European outings at the Parc des Princes. Coach Unai Emery, meanwhile, had only won one of 23 games against Barcelona in his coaching career, but his team destroyed their opponents right from the off. Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta all endured miserable nights while the likes of Draxler, Di Maria, Adrien Rabiot and Thomas Meunier were all superb. Centre-back Presnel Kimpembe also produced an accomplished display on his Champions League debut at the age of 21 in place of injured captain Thiago Silva. “We could not have imagined a better evening. To win 4-0 against Barcelona on my birthday is incredible,” Di Maria told beIN Sports. “It was the perfect match. But to go through we will need to play like this again because they are also capable of scoring four goals.” Emery could be forgiven for basking in the glory of such a victory after the criticism he faced in his early months in France. However, the Spaniard preferred to strike a note of caution ahead of the return. “We put in a great effort against a great team but the message in the dressing room was that we still have 90 minutes to play. Satisfaction for a coach is very short-lived and I respect the great team that Barcelona are,” Emery said.Coach Enrique in the firing line after ‘disastrous’ defeatBarcelona coach Luis Enrique floundered in the firing line after what he called a “disastrous” 4-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain left the Spanish champions on the brink of their earliest Champions League exit in a decade. Enrique confronted a television reporter working for Catalan station TV3 after the match, whilst his tactics were criticised by Barca midfielder Sergio Busquets. Barcelona sports daily Sport’s front cover screamed, ‘This is not Barca’, whilst Madrid-based AS’s headline ran ‘Total Disaster’. A former Real Madrid foe came back to haunt Barca as Angel di Maria scored twice, whilst further goals from Julian Draxler and Edison Cavani handed PSG the glorious European night they have craved since a takeover from Qatar Sports Investments six years ago. The joint heaviest defeat in Enrique’s three seasons in charge means they face missing out on the quarter-finals for the first time since losing on away goals to Liverpool in the last 16 in 2006/07. “It was a disastrous night for us in which we were clearly inferior,” Enrique acknowledged. “I accept responsibility, but I would also like the same respect and personal treatment in the interviews when we win,” he added in a fiery interview with TV3. Enrique’s future at the Camp Nou beyond the current campaign was already in doubt as his contract expires at the end of the season. Barcelona also trail Real Madrid in the race for the Spanish title. And Busquets’s reaction in praising Enrique’s counterpart Unai Emery for the tactical set-up that caught the Catalans cold was telling: “It wasn’t an attitude problem, but a football one. They pressed more and were better tactically. They had a plan and carried it out as they wanted.” Sport described Barca as a “shipwreck without a coach”. “Barca fell in Paris without grandeur and without excuses,” continued Sport’s editorial. “It was a tumultuous fall, from the first minute to the last...more than an accident, it manifested itself as an aggravation of many problems, some latent and others evident, that had already been shown up throughout the season.” Enrique’s preference for Portuguese international Andre Gomes in midfield has been a particular bug bear for the press. Gomes missed a huge chance to level with the score a 1-0 midway through the first half. Yet, humiliation in Paris laid bare broader failings in Barca’s season on and off the field from the president down to the players. Gomes was the most expensive of six summer recruits costing over 120mn euros ($127mn) designed to add greater depth and more youth to the squad. Yet, none of them have made a significant impression with Barca still reliant on an ageing core of Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta and Busquets alongside the start front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. Meanwhile, suitable replacements for the departed Dani Alves and Xavi Hernandez from the Barca sides that won trebles under Pep Guardiola in 2009 and in Enrique’s first season in 2015 have yet to be found. The most immediate order of business for president Josep Maria Bartomeu and his board is to tie down Messi with the five-time World Player of the Year just over a year away from becoming a free agent. Yet, worryingly for Barca’s future, Messi and Suarez also turn 30 this year. The punishment dished out to Enrique was only further evidenced by the praise lavished on Emery in his homeland. Emery guided Sevilla to Europa League glory in each of the past three seasons and once again proved his worth on the European stage despite having managed just one win over Barca in his previous 23 attempts with Sevilla and Valencia. “The Sheikh signed him for this,” said Madrid sports daily Marca. “What Carlo Ancelotti and Laurent Blanc couldn’t do, Unai has within his grasp — eliminating Messi’s Barca from the European Cup.”