A chance to relive Barcelona's 1-1 UEFA Champions League quarter-final pull against Paris Saint-Germain, which secured the Blaugrana's invest the semi-finals FC Barcelona entered the match without their captain, Carles Puyol, and probably their finest centre-half, Javier Mascherano, while celebrity striker Lionel Messi was forced to begin the match on the counter, struggling with a hamstring injury he found in the first-leg at the Parc des Princes. With no real cause speak of, an uphill battle was faced by other than their advantage on away goals, Barcelona, even with the Camp Nou crowd in it. Paris Saint-Germain in the end were likely younger, more running and crucially, under much less pressure to deliver an effect. Despite a line-up and a decorated coach, PSG were the underdogs, not that you would have already been able to tell from the first-half of action. Xavi's free-kick aside, Barcelona were struggling to produce an effect, and were hardly in a position to achieve Salvatore Sirigu's goal, not to mention register a shot on target. PSG on one other hand had no such difficulty. Against a damaged Barcelona defense, the guests had numerous chances to simply take the lead as Ezequiel Lavezzi and Lucas Moura wreaked havoc on a new centre-back pairing. Victor Valdes found the resuce, but he was only delaying the inevitable. PSG were in control of the game - even without possession of the ball and the only surprise was that it took them 50 minutes to break the deadlock. Changing a with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, somehow Javier Pastore had the speed (the determination?) to rise past the Barca protection and the Argentine displayed excellent composure in order to complete the chance, driving the ball past Valdes at his near-post. Barcelona were behind, and in desperate need of a miracle. Enter Lionel Messi. Even with one knee, Messi had enough to turn the tide of this fit in Barca's favor, playing an intrinsic component in the build-up to Pedro's well-taken equaliser. For now, Messi's work is completed. They can relax, recover and reunite in the semi-finals. Follow us on Twitter
Via: [Soccer Live] Mohun Bagan AC - Air India - India ONGC I League
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