PSG beat Barcelona 4-2 as Vitinha and Fabián Ruiz settle Champions League thriller

Paris Saint-Germain beat Barcelona 4-2 at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday night, with Vitinha and Fabián Ruiz scoring in the final ten minutes to settle a Champions League match that swung one way and then the other.

The holders have now won all three of their games in this season's competition. Barcelona, who arrived in France on a run of 11 consecutive wins according to Le Monde, suffered their first defeat of the season.

Twice PSG led and twice Barcelona hauled themselves level. In the end, two equalisers were not enough against a side that kept coming. Sky Sports counted 40 attempts on goal across the 90 minutes.

Désiré Doué gave the home side the lead in the 38th minute. Xavi Espart equalised ten minutes into the second half, before Lucas Hernández restored PSG's advantage in the 72nd minute.

Lamine Yamal pulled Barcelona level again in the 79th minute with what Le Monde reported was the club's 50th goal of the season. For a moment the visitors looked capable of leaving Paris with something.

It lasted two minutes. Vitinha controlled the ball on his chest and fired from just outside the box in the 81st minute, according to Le Monde, to put PSG 3-2 ahead. Five minutes later Fabián Ruiz finished the job with what Sky Sports described as a tap-in.

Injuries take the shine off for both sides

The scoreline will dominate the headlines, but PSG paid a price. Le Monde reported that the home side lost both Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to injury during the match, with Dembélé going off after 20 minutes with a hamstring problem.

Barcelona had their own worry. Dani Olmo was withdrawn with an injury in the first half, according to the same report.

Barcelona forward Anthony Gordon was candid about the gap on the night. "They deserved it. They were the better team and had the better moments with real quality. Athletically, they were able to sustain the pressure and intensity for longer than we were. They've been the team to beat for two years and tonight they gave a great example as to why," he told Sky Sports.

He added: "I think it was quite predictable that it was going to be high-scoring and a good spectacle for people to watch. I was hoping we would come out on the right side of that, but unfortunately we didn't."

Where it leaves the two sides

ESPN lists PSG at three wins from three with nine points and a goal difference of plus nine. Barcelona sit on six points from two wins and a defeat, with a goal difference of plus five.

The win extends PSG's momentum in Europe. Le Monde noted they had beaten Manchester City 4-2 in their previous Champions League match, and that Tuesday's result made it seven wins in a row in all competitions. The same outlet pointed out this was the 14th Champions League meeting between the two clubs in the last 13 years, a rivalry that keeps producing nights like this.

Hansi Flick chose to look at the longer game. "I think it was a fantastic game from both teams but we made too many mistakes," the Barcelona coach told Le Monde. "But I also saw a lot of good things. It was a great test for us and we have to learn from this game. Today, in October, you cannot win titles. You win the Champions League in June."

Doué, who opened the scoring, struck a similar note from the winning dressing room. "It is just the start of the season and there will be a lot more big matches but the hunger is there and we will keep our focus," he said.

Barcelona have little time to dwell on it. Sky Sports reported that they travel to Real Madrid on Sunday for the first Clásico of the season, a fixture that now carries the added weight of a side trying to respond to its first loss of the campaign.

Madrid, for their part, are in Champions League action themselves before then, hosting RB Leipzig on Wednesday evening.