Paris Saint-Germain 4-2 Barcelona: Vitinha and Fabian strike late to settle Champions League thriller

Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz struck in the last 10 minutes to clinch Paris Saint-Germain a 4-2 win over Barcelona in an enthralling Champions League tie.

Both sides were guilty of wasting chances, but Desire Doue gave PSG a half-time lead that Xavi Espart cancelled out early in the second half.

Lamine Yamal then levelled after Lucas Hernandez had put the reigning champions back in front, Vitinha and Fabian both scored late on to end Barcelona's perfect start to the season.

PSG almost got off to a dream start as Pedri was caught in possession and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia struck the foot of the post from the edge of the box. Ousmane Dembele latched onto the rebound and blazed wide of the empty net, but the offside flag spared his blushes.

Ferran Torres – an early replacement after Dembele pulled up holding his hamstring – was played in behind Barcelona's defence, but Joan Garcia was equal to the scuffed volley.

And Garcia's inspired form continued as he again denied Ferran from point-blank range before getting back to his feet to push away Fabian's bouncing volley.

The breakthrough came in the 38th minute, as Joao Neves cut out Yamal's dinked pass from defence, and Doue skipped away from his marker to curl past Garcia.

Fermin Lopez – who came on for the injured Dani Olmo – should have equalised moments later, but Matvey Safonov stood his ground to block the chip one-on-one.

PSG started the second half on top as well, with Doue picking out the unmarked Achraf Hakimi, who could only aim his first-time effort at Garcia.

Barcelona punished their hosts for their profligacy in the 55th minute as a lovely, flowing team move resulted in Fermin sliding in Espart to drill past Safonov.

Gavi then forced a sharp stop out of Safonov, but PSG soon swung momentum back in their favour. Ferran struck the post from close range, and from the next corner, Doue picked out Hernandez to thump past the helpless Garcia.

Barcelona were not done yet, with Yamal dragging them level with a piece of individual brilliance. Warren Zaire-Emery could not clear a long ball forward, and the teenager readjusted brilliantly to bring it in his stride and rifle a stunning tight-angled strike into the roof of the net with 11 minutes to go.

But Vitinha restored PSG’s advantage two minutes later; Hakimi's cross was only half-cleared by Gerard Martin and the Portugal international put his laces through a volley on the edge of the box to give Garcia no chance. 

With four minutes of the 90 remaining, Fabian made sure of all three points. Hakimi's low cross took a slight deflection, but it still made it through to the unmarked Spaniard, who tapped in at the far post.

Flick's side come unstuck for the first time this season

If this fixture promised one thing, it was goals. The previous 15 European/Cup Champions League meetings between these sides saw a combined 57 goals scored, and this one arguably should have had even more.

PSG dominated the first half and got 10 of their 12 shots on target, the highest number of attempts on target Barcelona have faced before the break in the competition since at least 2003-04. 

Despite being on the losing side, Garcia proved to be the key part of Flick's side as he made 10 saves in total.

Flick's side have been the ones to beat in 2026-27, but their perfect record across all competitions has now ended – they had won all of their previous 11 games while scoring 50 goals.

The two teams combined for 40 shots (22 for PSG, 18 for Barca) and had 11 Opta-defined 'big' chances between them (six for PSG, five for Barcelona). 

This was always going to be Barcelona's toughest test of the season, and PSG made sure they knew they were in a contest. Luis Enrique, facing his former side, has now overseen a 13-game unbeaten streak in the Champions League (W9 D4).

They have equalled their longest-ever run without defeat in the European Cup/Champions League (13 games between October 2012 and November 2013).