The Barça of comebacks still can't beat the European champions.

BarcelonaThe Champions League dealt Barça a cruel slap in the face with a defeat as painful as it was fair, served up in the final minute against PSG (1-2). Lamine Yamal faded, Pedri ran out of gas, and the Blaugrana team would end up giving their all, but the Parisians were the better side and dominated Hansi Flick's men, who suffered their first defeat of the season with a goal from Gonçalo Ramos in the final minute of regulation time.

The Montjuïc turf witnessed an intense Champions League battle in which the French side were the better side. And yet the first to strike was a hungry Barça side, with Lamine Yamal animated on the right wing. The number 10 started the match by spinning and taking on as many as three opponents, leaving all three behind. It was the Barça star's calling card, and he would also be the first to assist the tireless Ferran Torres, for the first clear chance of the match. Luis Enrique, like Hansi Flick, also favors playing with a high defensive line, and here the Valencian striker smelled blood, searching for the backs of the center-backs. Thus, he had his first big opportunity. He had a chance to get around Chavalier's exit, but with a narrow angle, he forced a shot, and Zabarnyi saved the play at the last minute.

Barça pressed high and pressured PSG, while the crowd turned up the volume, partly to cheer on their team, partly to respond to the nearly 2,800 PSG fans in the south goal, who couldn't get enough of their team for quite a while. Ferran's warning was the prelude to the first goal, which would provoke a huge outburst of emotion on Montjuïc against a PSG side that was particularly unfriendly. Barça's high pressure was rewarded. Lamine Yamal recovered, Pedri distributed the ball to the left, and Rashford, with a delightful pass, set up Ferran in the heart of the box, who sent the ball into the back of the net, while the entire French defense was shocked. The goal was a deserved reward, doing justice to the story of a thrilling duel, despite the numerous absences on both sides.

PSG reacted and won.

The Blaugrana team felt superior and looked for a second. Dani Olmo tried his luck, his shot going wide of the left post after a great move by Pedri. With his confidence high, Rashford also came close to scoring, but the defense managed to deflect his shot from the edge of the box. It looked like Barça were heading for a big European night against the champions, but if Luis Enrique's teams have one thing going for them, it's that they never let them down. After the half-hour mark, PSG shook off their stage fright and began to impose a sort of champion's dictatorship that dominated the Blaugranas. De Jong narrowly escaped expulsion after a nasty challenge on Nuno Mendes. The PSG left-back, arguably the best specialist in the position currently available, became a trip to the dentist for Barça.

With Lamine Yamal barely marking, Mendes steered the ball through the inside lanes with little pause. De Jong was the one chasing him when he shot into the Barça area, but with the Dutchman booked, the Portuguese imposed his power by being an almost constant threat in the closing stages of the first half. PSG's attackers, some of them supporting players due to the notable absences of Dembélé and Doué, were rubbing their hands with Mendes' assists.

This was how the equalizer came about, with the full-back getting right up front, laying off Mayulu, who took advantage of Cubarsí diving too quickly, scoring the 1-1 goal that confirmed the tables had turned and that PSG were the ones who had turned. Vitinha, who seemed to multiply because he was everywhere, dominated more than Pedri, and Barcola was more intimidating than the Barça attackers. Before the break, however, Rashford managed to put some fear back into PSG's minds with a pair of cuts and a cross to the near post that Pacho managed to deflect.

After the break, Luis Enrique continued to outplay Hansi Flick. The Parisian side had the ball and dictated the pace, demanding Eric and Cubarsi, who had to work hard in the defensive core. The best news for Barça was that the scoreline remained unchanged, keeping their hopes alive, which would translate into a couple of scrapes. The clearest chance came from Dani Olmo, who collected a rebound near the penalty spot and, with everything in his favor, shot hard but square, and Hakimi, providentially, denied Barça. Lamine Yamal also claimed Nuno Mendes' second yellow card, for a foul on the edge of the box, which Michel Oliver refused to show him.

Pedri's fuel was running out, reaching the reserves, and Flick replaced him with Bernal with 15 minutes left. The Canary Islander's exhaustion was the exhaustion of an entire Barça side, which, without the light of Lamine Yamal, went out against a PSG that came close to making it 2-1 with a shot from Kang-in Lee that hit the post. It was before Gonçalo Ramos' final blow that silenced Montjuïc.