No repeat 'remontada' but Koeman grows in optimism

PARIS • With a 4-1 lead heading into their last-16, second-leg Champions League tie at Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain could be forgiven for thinking their progression was a done deal.

Except Barcelona gave them a fright and had captain Lionel Messi not missed his first-half penalty, it could have been a different game for the Catalans.

Ronald Koeman's men hit the bar through Sergino Dest, while Ousmane Dembele wasted several excellent opportunities as both sides drew 1-1 on Wednesday.

Barca had 10 shots on target, their most in a Champions League game they failed to win since Arsenal in March 2010, but paid the price for their Nou Camp debacle, going out 5-2 on aggregate.

After Kylian Mbappe, who scored a hat-trick in the first leg, opened the scoring with a penalty against the run of play, Messi levelled with a stunning strike from long range. But he missed a penalty that many pundits felt should have been retaken, snuffing out Barca's hopes of a comeback. The French treble winners managed to weather the storm and saw out the game after a dressing-room pep talk by coach Mauricio Pochettino.

"In the first half, we were thinking too much," said the Argentine. "We were thinking too much about the qualification and not enough about playing. I told the players to shake off those negative thoughts and think about the game."

He paid tribute to Keylor Navas, who kept his side in the game and prevented a repeat of the 2017 "remontada", when Barca beat PSG 6-1 to overturn a 4-0 first-leg defeat in the last 16 - one of the competition's greatest fightbacks.

"Navas once again showed all his qualities," said Pochettino. "He's one of the best 'keepers in the world."

While PSG's European pedigree is growing - they reached last year's final and are in the quarter-finals for the second year running after three straight last-16 eliminations - Barca have now failed to reach the competition's last eight for the first time since 2006-07.

Following their exit, there was more speculation that Messi may now call time on his 18-year stay with the club as his contract is due to expire in the summer and no extension has been agreed.

But Koeman insisted the Argentina forward can have no doubts over the "great future" of his Spanish giants, even as he rued their profligacy.

2005 The last year Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were not in the Champions League quarter-finals.

"Leo has seen for quite some time that the team is improving," he said. "We are departing this Champions League in a very different manner from the way we did last season... We deserved more for that effort."

REUTERS