TOP GOAL SCORERS IN HISTORY

 

BARCELONA REACTION | ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI CONTINUES TO PROVE DOUBTERS WRONG.

 

COPA DEL REY: BARCELONA, ATLÉTICO MADRID PLAY OUT THRILLING 4-4 DRAW IN FIRST LEG OF SEMI- FINAL

Barcelona surged to a 4-2 lead against Atletico after conceding two goals in the opening six minutes, only for Diego Simeone’s side to fight back in the closing minutes of the pulsating encounter in Barcelona on Tuesday.
Atletico Madrid conceded a two-goal lead then fought back from two down in a wild 4-4 draw with Barcelona in a Copa del Rey semi-final first leg thriller on Tuesday.

Barcelona's Gavi (centre) fights for the ball with Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez, left, and Marcos Llorente. AP

After Diego Simeone’s side scored twice in the opening six minutes through Julian Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann, Barca raced through the gears in a high-octane performance.

The superb Pedri Gonzalez pulled one back with Pau Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez and Robert Lewandowski going on to score.

Marcos Llorente netted for Atletico before Alexander Sorloth struck in the 93rd minute.

- Agence France-Presse

RELEASED VAR CONVERSION REVEALS WHY BARCELONA MIDFIELDER WAS SHOWN A RED CARD AGAINST SEVILLA

FC Barcelona took the full three points from their away game against Sevilla last night, as goals from Robert Lewandowski, Fermin Lopez, Raphinha, and Eric Garcia allowed the Catalans to get a 1-4 win in this game.

The midfielder Fermin Lopez was initially shown a yellow card by the referee for a harsh challenge on Djibril Sow, but after a VAR review, this card was turned to red and the player was expelled.

Naturally, the expulsion was quite controversial as the Barcelona faithful believed the red card shown was rather harsh.

Amid this controversy, MARCA reports that the conversation between the referee Hernandez Hernandez and the in charge of VAR for this game, Carlos del Cerro Grande, has been released. The conversation between the two officials took place as follows:

“Alejandro, I recommend a review for a potential serious rough play.”

“He goes in with a high leg, and his leg bends… in our opinion, his leg gets caught and twists dangerously for the Sevilla player.”

The on-pitch referee, Hernandez Hernandez replies:

“He goes in very hard. Loss of body control. That is dangerous. Perfect… I’m going to change the yellow card for number 16 to a red.”

The VAR images for the foul show Fermin Lopez’s studs to be upturned, but it was not clear whether he had hit Sow with these studs.

However, MARCA went on to publish the opinion of a former referee, Perez Burull, for whom it was the right decision to expel Lopez. He argues the height of the midfielder’s boot was quite high, which justifies the red card, and if his boot had been lower, a yellow card would have sufficed.

- Ahmad Sarmad Ansari

ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI'S CAREER GOALS

 

FC BARCELONA COACH FLICK POST-BENFICA: 'I'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED A COMEBACK LIKE THIS BEFORE '

knockout phase.
UEFA VIA GETTY IMAGES

FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick confessed that he has "never lived a comeback like this before", after the Catalans beat Benfica 5-4 in the Champions League on Tuesday to guarantee automatic qualification to the elite European competition's knockout phase.

Barca went 1-0 down inside two minutes and trailed by a two-goal margin twice in Estadio da Luz amid Greek striker Vangelis Pavlidis completing a first half hat trick in just over 30 minutes.

Raphinha made it 3-2 shortly after the interval, yet there was another setback in store in quick succession as Ronald Araujo converted a cross into his own net past Wojciech Szczesny.

Down but not out, though, the Blaugrana was given hope by a second Robert Lewandowski penalty prior to Eric Garcia beating Anatoliy Trubin with a bullet header made possible by Pedri's delightful cross.

Then in the 94th minute, Raphinha ran as if his life depending on meeting a thunderous Ferran Torres clearance out of the Barca half and scored the winner.

And as the Brazilian confessed that he is in the best moment of his career and will "kill and die for this team", Flick made some admissions of his own following the full time whistle.

"It was a crazy game. The best thing was the mentality. This is football. I don't think I've ever experienced a comeback like this," he told Movistar.

Complimenting Benfica, Flick said that the Lisbon giants are "very good in transitions" and punished Barca.

"They forced us to defend very deep, as we were not well positioned. The substitutions helped us a lot," Flick added.

Though the penalty that allowed Pavlidis to complete his hat trick was soft, Szczesny was definitely to blame for the second goal where he misjudged a run out of the box and clattered into left back Alejandro Balde making it easy for the target man to give Benfica the lead again.

Asked about the Pole's error, Flick posed a question himself.

"Which player doesn't make mistakes? We all make them. We win and lose together. I liked what I saw in the second half," he stated.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Flick said that "we don't think about being calm" just because passage to the last 16 has been granted.

"For us it's important to focus on Valencia [in La Liga] now, and then Atalanta. We don't think about being calm. We want to beat Atalanta as well," he stressed.

- Tom Sanderson

BARCELONA COACH FLICK SLAMS WRONG VAR DECISION IN LOSS

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick criticised the "wrong decision" to disallow Robert Lewandowski's goal for offside as his team were beaten 1-0 at Real Sociedad on Sunday in LaLiga.

Lewandowski thought he had opened the scoring at Anoeta in the 14th minute, but semi-automated offside technology (SAOT), introduced in Spain at the start of the season, ruled the striker's toe was marginally ahead of La Real defender Nayef Aguerd's foot.

The hosts went on to win the game through Sheraldo Becker's strike, ending Barça's seven-game winning streak in all competitions as Flick's team failed to find the net in a game for the first time this season.

"It was the wrong decision, clear," Flick told Barça One after the match. "I saw the picture. It's clear, it's clear, but we have to accept it.

"It was not the referee's fault. At the end of the day, we are humans, we make mistakes, and today was a big mistake."

SAOT is not used universally across Europe. Italy's Serie A was the first major league to implement it and there is a desire to introduce it in the Premier League, but its roll out in England has been delayed as testing continues.

Flick was adamant it failed in Lewandowski's goal, airing his thoughts to the referee at half-time, although he played down the idea he had come across as "angry" in the discussion.

Hansi Flick looks on during Barcelona's loss to Real Sociedad, the second league defeat for his team this season. Getty Images

"It was not so angry," he laughed in his post-game news conference. "I said only to him 'It was a goal, it was wrong decision, it was not offside.'

"But it was not his fault. We have to accept it. Until there, with the 1-0 for us, it would be a different match. But at the end, it was different and it was not our day.

"At the end, it's a defeat, but the matches before and after the last break were fantastic. I really appreciate the team and how they are doing."

Barça's second league defeat of the season also came with Lamine Yamal watching from the stands after bruising his ankle in the midweek Champions League victory over Red Star Belgrade.

The 17-year-old, who has six goals and eight assists in 16 appearances this season, did not start the last time Barça lost in LaLiga, either, against Osasuna in September.

"I think it would be an easy answer to say 'OK, we lost because Lamine wasn't there,'" Flick said when asked if it was just a coincidence they have lost both matches the teenager has not started.

"Of course a player like this quality Lamine has, every team will miss it. But at the end, we started good. I think the goal, what I can say it was wrong decision, absolutely, but we have to accept it.

"After the La Real goal we suffered a little bit. I think today was not our day, also in the offence we had not the clear chances to make goals. We made wrong decisions in the last third. We have to accept it today."

Flick added that Barça's and Spain's doctors will now decide whether Yamal joins up with the national team for upcoming fixtures against Denmark and Switzerland in the UEFA Nations League.

The defeat to La Real sees Barça's lead at the top of LaLiga cut to six points, while second-placed Real Madrid also have a game in hand. They return to action after the international break against Celta Vigo on Nov. 23.

- Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens

REAL MADRID BOSS ANCELOTTI SLAMS BARCELONA CELEBRATIONS IN CLASICO ROUT

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was unhappy with how Barcelona's bench celebrated their fourth goal after seeing his side beaten 4-0 in Saturday's Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Robert Lewandowski scored twice, with Lamine Yamal and Raphinha also finding the net as Barça ended Madrid's 42-game unbeaten streak in LaLiga and moved six points clear of them at the top of the table.

The celebrations after the fourth goal, Raphinha's 10th of the campaign, spilled in front of the Madrid bench with Ancelotti confronting Barça coach Hansi Flick. Ancelotti, though, said his issue was with the behaviour of one of Flick's assistants.

"[The problem] was with the assistant, not with Flick," Ancelotti said in his postgame news conference when asked to clear up what had happened. "The assistant was not a gentleman with the way he celebrated in front of bench. And Flick agreed with us."

Asked about the incident in his news conference, Flick said: "I didn't see it. I just spoke with Carlo and it was something ... it's normal in this situation, when you celebrate a goal maybe it's not ... we're old enough to speak about that."

Carlo Ancelotti was unhappy with Barcelona's celebrations for their fourth goal against Real Madrid. OSCAR DEL POZO/AFP via Getty Images

Madrid had won the past four Clásicos in all competitions and avoiding defeat here would have seen them match Barça's LaLiga record 43-game unbeaten streak.

However, following a goalless first half, they collapsed after the break.

Lewandowski scored twice in three minutes to take his tally to 17 for the campaign in all competitions. Then Yamal, becoming the youngest Clásico scorer at 17, and Raphinha completed the rout.

"Until the goal, it was an even game," Ancelotti said. "We had chances and could have scored, but we weren't clinical. When they score, it saps some energy from you and it becomes another game. They did a lot of damage on the counter.

"I liked the first half, we have to follow that line. We don't have to throw everything away, we just have to forget the last 30 minutes. We can't give up, we just have to learn. We came out of the last defeat well against Atlético Madrid last season and we have to do the same. I am certain we will do better."

It proved a tough introduction to the Clásico for Kylian Mbappé, who had two goals ruled out for offside and missed a slew of chances.

In total, Mbappé was caught offside eight times -- tied for most in a LaLiga game in the past 15 seasons -- as Los Blancos, who had 12 offside calls in total, struggled to get in behind Barça's high line.

"We took risks with his position," Ancelotti added of Mbappé's performance. "They have a high line and due to fine margins we have not been able to take advantage of it. He has also had three or four chances and has not taken them when we need a little more.

"The result doesn't reflect what happened on pitch. Barça go ahead and then the confidence that came from that changed the game. We took risks and they're a team in form who were dangerous on the break. The defeat worries me, but we have to pick ourselves up quickly. We have to keep fighting. We're not going to be that far away this season from what we did last season."

The result capped a remarkable week for Barça, coming just four days after they demolished Bayern Munich 4-1 in the Champions League.

Under Flick they have now won 12 of 14 games in all competitions, but the German coach refused to get carried away.

"We start the journey and we're doing really well," he said. "Like I always say, we have to make things better and we do it also, but today was not easy. We keep going with our idea, we have a flow at the moment and we have to keep going.

"I've always said I'm really happy to work for Barça and also to live in Barcelona. It's an amazing job, it's a new part of my life and it feels really good. Today we made a fantastic match and I'm really proud about the team. And how we play is very important as well.

"This will give the players more confidence. The celebration in the dressing room was good to see. Now we have a recovery day, then I give the players two days off and after the focus is on Espanyol next weekend."

- Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondent

HANS FLICK & ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI REACT TO EL CLASICO VS. REAL MADRID

BARCELONA'S RAPHINHA SAYS BAYERN ROUT 'REVENGE' FOR FANS

Barcelona forward Raphinha said Wednesday's thumping 4-1 Champions League win over Bayern Munich served as "revenge" for the club's supporters for past results against the German giants.

Raphinha starred with a hat trick on his 100th appearance for Barça as the Catalan club ended a run of six successive defeats against Bayern in the competition.

The Brazilian was only there for two of those games -- and he had not signed for Barça when they lost 8-2 to Bayern in 2020 -- but he said he experienced them all as a supporter.

"It was revenge for the fans I think," Raphinha said after the game. "For us on the inside, the players, we don't look at the past. We focus on the next game. But I suffered those games as a fan, too.

"It's been an amazing, special night, scoring [a hat trick] on my 100th game for the club. I am very happy with the performance and how we played.

"As a team, we played really well and that's the most important thing for me. Getting that second win in the Champions League was important."

Barça and Bayern both came into the fixture at the Olympic Stadium with one win and one loss from their opening games in this season's Champions League, making it imperative not to drop more points given the uncertainty over how many will be needed to progress in the new format.

Raphinha opened the scoring inside the opening minute, but Harry Kane drew Bayern level with his 14th goal of the season in all competitions.

Robert Lewandowski restored Barça's lead before half-time and two more goals from Raphinha either side of the break earned Barça the points in a game the former Leeds United attacker feels could have been the final.

"I said before the game this could be a Champions League final," he added. "Maybe not everyone agrees with me, but in my opinion it could be.

"So to be able to win in this manner, in front of our fans, is quite special and I am really happy."

Raphinha celebrates with his Barcelona teammates after beating Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Getty Images

Raphinha, who captained Barça on the night, now has nine goals and six assists in all competitions in what is his third season with the Blaugrana. He was named MVP by UEFA for his performance.

"I will give [the MVP] award to my son, it will be another trophy for him, although he prefers the match balls," he joked. "But it's a trophy that shows what I can do in the Champions League. Since I signed I have dreamed of these nights: scoring goals, playing these games and making a difference."

The victory sets Barça up perfectly for Saturday's trip to Real Madrid for the first Clásico of the season. If they win at the Santiago Bernabéu, they could open up a six point lead at the top of the table.

Coach Hansi Flick -- who was in charge of Bayern for that 8-2 four years ago -- lauded an "incredible" win against his former side, but tempered expectations about winning the Champions League as he looked ahead to taking on Madrid.

"No, it's too soon, we just started the season," he said in a news conference when asked if the result makes Barça a genuine contender to win the trophy. "We're on a long road in LaLiga and in the Champions League. We are taking things game by game. We're obviously very proud of the result tonight, but on Saturday it continues with another hard game.

"We want to deliver another top performance. It's an incredible result against a fantastic team and gives us confidence for Saturday. I am very proud of the team. We saw the joy of the team and how they celebrated."

It was a different story for Bayern, who tasted defeat for the second game running in the Champions League after losing at Aston Villa last time out.

Coach Vincent Kompany had few complaints with the result, but said there were moments around Kane's equaliser when he thought his side could get points from the game.

"What I can share at the moment is how we felt the game went at the start or in the first half versus what we thought we could achieve in this game," Kompany said in a news conference. "I think all of us, and you guys would have felt it too, felt like we could edge this game, that it could turn for us.

"But in key moments we got outdone and for that reason the result is fairly heavy. We have to learn from this game so the next opportunities we have we are stronger again."

- Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens

LIVERPOOL 'REACHED AGREEMENT TO SIGN KYLIAN MBAPPÉ' AS PSG SPEAK OUT

Liverpool's interest in Kylian Mbappe was widely known, but it has now emerged that an official agreement had been struck.

Kylian Mbappe playing at Anfield for PSG in the Champions League. (Image: Getty)

Liverpool reportedly reached an agreement to sign Kylian Mbappe before the 2018 World Cup winner made his long-awaited move to Real Madrid.

The La Liga outfit are rumoured to have paid Mbappe a signing bonus of £85million, with the Frenchman having penned an initial five-year contract at the Santiago Bernabeu.

But had things worked out differently for Mbappe, he might’ve been playing in the red and white of Liverpool instead.

That’s because it’s claimed by L’Equipe that Liverpool and Mbappe had reached a shock agreement over the attacker’s transfer two summers ago.

It’s suggested by the French outlet that Mbappe was dissatisfied with the sporting project at Paris Saint-Germain shortly after signing a contract extension in 2022.

Mbappe is believed to have been upset that PSG failed to land either Bernardo Silva or Robert Lewandowski, so much so, that the world-renowned superstar reportedly submitted a transfer request.

Liverpool, on the back of an agonising season that saw them finish second in both the Premier League and Champions League, are said to have emerged as the most likely destination at the time.

The Reds even tried their luck at luring him out of PSG, with a bid reported to be in excess of £160m submitted to the Parisian giants.

Needless to say, their approach was laughed off by PSG, who had just handed Mbappe a monster contract and were instead holding out for upwards of £300m for his signature.

Mbappe addressed these rumours during a 2022 interview with the Telegraph, saying: “We talked a little bit, but not too much. I talked to Liverpool because it's the favourite club of my mum, my mum loves Liverpool. I don't know why, you will have to ask her. It's a good club and we met them five years ago. When I was in Monaco I met them. It's a big club."

Whereas then manager Jurgen Klopp had issued a coy response when quizzed on whether the club held interest in the speed-merchant.

Speaking a summer later in 2023, Klopp commented: “I can say that I think he's [Mbappe] a really good player, but the financial conditions don't suit us at all. I wouldn’t like to ruin the story now, but as far as I know, there's nothing to it.

"It's possible that someone else from the club is preparing something and wants to surprise me, but that hasn’t happened in the eight years that I've been here. That would be the first time."

- AMOS MURPHY

BARCELONA BOSS FLICK LAUDS LEWANDOWSKI AFTER PROLIFIC LALIGA START

Hansi Flick lauded goal-getter Robert Lewandowski after the striker netted the winner in Barcelona's 2-1 win against Athletic Club at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday.

Lewandowski celebrated turning 36 this week by following up last weekend's brace against Valencia with his third goal in two LaLiga games.

Flick, who worked with Lewandowski at Bayern Munich, has been especially impressed with his fitness and work off the ball.

"I know him, I have worked with him and he's 100% fit, you can see it," the German coach said in a news conference.

"Against the ball he's doing great. He presses with the team from the front, so we always receive the ball very high. It's good for our game.

"Robert is an absolute professional player, working hard on his fitness, this body he has, it's not this age.

"For me, when he is fit, when he is positive, it helps us a lot. He knows how to score goals and also when he is under pressure."

Barça took the lead through Lamine Yamal but Athletic levelled before the break via an Oihan Sancet penalty.

Lewandowski twice hit the woodwork and saw another shot saved brilliantly by Álex Padilla before turning home the winner in the 75th minute.

"We needed this second goal and Robert had the chance and he took it," Flick added.

"This is his job and he is doing this great over years now, not only this year.

"Of course, in the first half especially he could score one or two goals, but I have to see it again, it's just the impression on the bench.

"But, at the end, this is a goal-getter, a striker who scores goals. The second goal for us was the winner, three points, perfect."

Lewandowski's goal ensured Flick's perfect start as Barça coach continued as they made it six points from two games.

"I think it's always good to improve," Flick said of his team's start to the campaign.

"That is what I said to the team. Every match is a step in front, so we want to do better, this is what we are doing.

"We analyse the match, see where we can do things better for the next match."

Barça's start has been all the more impressive given the youngsters involved in the team, with Yamal, Pau Cubarsí and Marc Bernal all still 17.

Bernal made his debut against Valencia at the base of the midfield and kept his place against Athletic.

"It's nothing to do with age, it's to do with performance," Flick said of the young midfielder.

"He's doing good, in the preseason we could say he has something we need. Today also he is doing great and it was not easy against Athletic, they have a good idea how they want to play football.

"It was very important we have a No .6 focused on the defence and this is what he did."

- Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondent

CHRISTIAN PULSIC SCORES AS AC MILAN BEAT BARCELONA IN SHOOTOUT

AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic celebrates scoring the second goal against FC Barcelona during an exhibition match at M&T Bank Stadium. (Kim Hairston/staff)

AC Milan beat Barcelona in a shootout at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, on Tuesday night as the two teams prepare for their upcoming club seasons, which are only weeks away.

Robert Lewandowski scored twice to cancel out a goal and an assist by Christian Pulisic as Barca and Milan finished regular time tied at 2-2 before heading to a shootout.

Pulisic set up Luka Jovic early in the first half before scoring one of his own, clipping a clever shot from a tight angle past Barca keeper Marc-André ter Stegen to double Milan's lead.

After conceding twice, Lewandowski pulled a goal back for Barca before half-time after a defensive mistake by Milan left him free at the top of the area to curl a nice shot around Lorenzo Torriani to make it 2-1.

Barcelona drew level before the hour mark with Lewandowski scoring his second, this time shooting into a wide-open net after Pau Victor dinked a delicate cross right into his path in front of goal.

With Milan leading the shootout 4-3, Torriani saved Barca's sixth attempt of the evening to seal the preseason win for Milan.

The match wraps up the teams respective tours of the U.S., with Milan's preseason over ahead of their Aug. 17 start to Serie A against Torino. Barca, meanwhile, will play AS Monaco in the Trofeo Joan Gamper on Aug. 12 in Spain before a road game versus Valencia to begin the 2024-25 LaLiga season under new manager Hansi Flick.

Game Information

M&T Bank Stadium

2:30 AM, August 7, 2024

Coverage: ESPN+

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Over/Under: 3.5

Referees: Victor Rivas

LEWANDOWSKI, SWIDERSKI LIMP OFF AS POLAND SWEAT OVER STRIKERS' FITNESS FOR EUROS

 Poland's Nicola Zalewski scored a 90th minute goal to snatch a 2-1 win over Turkey in the final warm-up match for both sides on Monday before Euro 2024 but the home side will be worried over injuries to strikers Karol Swiderski and Robert Lewandowski.

Swiderski opened the scoring in the 12th minute, slipping his shot under the legs of goalkeeper Mert Günok but as the forward celebrated he came down awkwardly on his ankle and went off injured shortly afterwards.

"Karol has sprained his ankle and only after the tests will we know what the situation looks like. There will certainly be no changes made," Poland manager Michal Probierz said.

Turkey equalised in the 77th minute with two substitutes involved when Kenan Yildiz passed to Baris Alper Yilmaz on the edge of the area and his shot went through the legs of defender Bartosz Salamon and past keeper Wojciech Szczesny.

Both sides had chances to find a winner but it was Poland who extended their unbeaten run to eight games when Zalewski went on a solo-run into the area and netted a fine goal in the final minute.

"We haven't won for five games but in all the friendly matches we had difficult opponents," Turkey manager Vincenzo Montella said, with his side having held European champions Italy to a 0-0 draw last week.

"What worries me is that we work hard, we try, and every failure affects our well-being. I'm not worried because we had 20 scoring opportunities. We need to have better efficiency, I am aware of that."

Poland had already lost Arkadiusz Milik to injury during their 3-1 win over Ukraine on Friday, with the Juventus forward then left out of the Euro squad, and, after Swiderski's injury, manager Probierz could have even more problems.

The sight of talisman Lewandowski going off injured later in the first half was the last thing any Polish fan wanted to see, but his injury may not be as serious as Swiderski's.

"Robert has a slight injury but there should be no problem," Probierz said after he became the Poland manager with the most successful start after eight games without defeat since he took over in September last year.

Poland face the Netherlands on Sunday in their opening game at the Euros and will also play Austria and France in Group D. Turkey take on Georgia on June 18 before playing Portugal and the Czech Republic in Group F.

- Reuters 

XAVI: 'DISASTER' OF A REFEREE KILLED BARCELONA'S UCL HOPES

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández was left furious by the referee's performance in his team's loss to PSG. FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images

 Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández fumed about the decision to send Ronald Araújo off as his side were eliminated from the Champions League after Tuesday's 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at the Olympic Stadium.

Xavi said Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs was a "disaster" and that showing a red card to Araujo for a last-man challenge on Bradley Barcola with Barça leading 1-0 on the night in the 29th minute, 4-2 on aggregate, killed the quarterfinal.

A Kylian Mbappé brace and goals from Ousmane Dembélé, on his return to Barcelona, and Vitinha saw PSG turn the tie around, sealing a 6-4 aggregate win and setting up a semifinal against Borussia Dortmund.

"We are annoyed," Xavi said. "The red card marked the tie. We were well organised 11 vs. 11. It completely changed everything. For me, it's too much to send [Araújo] off there.

"The referee was really bad. I told him, he was a disaster. He killed the tie. I don't like speaking about referees but it has to be said. I don't understand it.

"It's not good going down to 10 players and from that point on it's another game. For as much as we speak [about the match], the red card marks everything."

Xavi was also sent off in the second half for protesting the decision not to give a penalty for a Marquinhos challenge on Ilkay Gündogan, with goalkeeping coach Jose Ramon de la Fuente also dismissed as Barça lost their cool.

"That was an error by me, it was my fault," added Xavi, accepting responsibility for his expulsion.

Barça came into Tuesday's game with a 3-2 lead from the first leg. They opened up a two-goal advantage in the tie when Raphinha turned home in the 12th minute after brilliant work from Lamine Yamal.

However, the game swung just before the half-hour mark when Araújo received his marching orders after being adjudged to have pulled Barcola to the ground as he ran through on goal just outside the box.

Dembélé and Vitinha scored either side of half-time to draw PSG level in the tie, with Mbappé nudging them ahead from the penalty spot in the 61st minute after João Cancelo fouled Dembélé.

Barça missed chances to level on aggregate before Mbappé sealed the win on the counter-attack in the 89th minute.

"We had the chance to equalise with [Gündogan] hitting the post and could even have made it 2-0 before the red card with [Robert Lewandowski's] shot which went just over," Xavi added.

"It's just a shame that the hard work of an entire season ends because of one refereeing decision. I would have liked it to be 11 vs. 11 for the whole game. It's an unnecessary red."

PSG coach Luis Enrique said he believed his side would have progressed to the semifinal even if Araújo had stayed on the pitch.

"I don't speak about referees," he said. "I have not seen it back, I just saw it live. In my time as a coach, I have never judged referees. I focus on what I can control.

"We started the game really well and the feeling when they score, after a brilliant piece of play from Lamine Yamal, is a bit like the first leg. We didn't deserve to lose last week and we didn't deserve to be behind tonight.

"But the faith and the belief from the players was exceptional. From there we grew into the game. Obviously the red card is a factor, but you still have to know how to play these games and not make mistakes.

"I honestly think without the red card, we still win, although I can't prove that."

It was a tricky night for Luis Enrique in other ways as he returned to the club he played for and later coached, winning the LaLiga, Copa del Rey and Champions League treble as Barça manager in 2015.

He was also in charge of Barça when they mounted a comeback against PSG by beating them 6-1 in 2017. Tuesday's win represented the first time the French side have ever progressed in the Champions League after losing the first leg, although Luis Enrique wouldn't pick between the two comebacks.

"The best feeling in football is making fans happy," he said. "That is unmatchable. I wouldn't choose between the two comebacks. I just hope this serves for more than 2017 [when Barça lost in the next round] and that we make the final now.

"Honestly, it has been so difficult to play against Barça, though, sentimentally and emotionally. I hope I don't have to face them many times in my career."

PSG will turn their attention back to Ligue 1 this weekend. They travel to Lyon with a 10-point lead at the top of the table, while they also have the French Cup final to come as they target a treble.

Barça, meanwhile, travel to the Santiago Bernabeú to face Real Madrid in El Clásico. They need to win to keep their slim title hopes alive, with Madrid eight points clear and seven games to be played.

- Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondent

BARCELONA BEAT OSASUNA TO SET UP CLASICO SUPERCOPA FINAL

Robert Lewandowski's goal helped Barcelona set up a Supercopa final against Real Madrid.

Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal scored second-half goals to give Barcelona an 2-0 win over Osasuna in a dour Spanish Supercopa semifinal in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

Barca setup a dream showpiece clash on Sunday with Real Madrid, who had beaten city rivals Atletico Madrid in a breathtaking 5-3 derby earlier in the week. It will be a re-match from last year's final, which Barca won 3-1.

Barcelona dominated possession in a dismal first half but were bereft of ideas and barely threatened their opponents.

Lewandowski could have done better in a couple of half-chances that were denied by a confident Osasuna goalkeeper Sergio Herrera, but it was not until the 59th minute that Barca came to life and managed to break the deadlock.

Ilkay Gündogan picked out Lewandowski with a through-ball and the striker scored from close-range.

However, Osasuna players were left fuming and complained to the referee that Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen had fouled Jose Arnaiz before starting the counter-attack, but a VAR check confirmed the goal.

BARCELONA SIGN BRAZILIAN FORWARD ROQUE ON SEVEN-YEAR DEAL FROM 2024

Reuters

Barcelona have reached an agreement to sign Vitor Roque from Club Athletico Paranaense with the Brazilian forward set to join the Spanish champions from the 2024-25 season on a contract until 2031, the LaLiga club said on Wednesday.

Financial details were not disclosed but media reports said Barca agreed a 40 million euros ($44.07 million) fee with 21 million in add-ons for the player seen as the successor to Robert Lewandowski who turns 35 next month.

ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI REACHED PELE'S RECORD OF 77 INTERNATIONAL GOALS

HAALAND VS. MESSI VS. MBAPPE VS. NEYMAR VS. LEWANDOWSKI | #UCL | UCL 2022-23

KARIM BENZEMA PASSES ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI