Half hour of chaos sees THREE Barcelona red cards to turn PSG tie on its head - The Mirror

Xavi and his Barcelona side suffered a devastating meltdown which saw the Catalan giants crash out of the Champions League to Paris-Saint Germain as they received three red cards

Barcelona suffered a memorable meltdown as they lost control, and ultimately their place in the Champions League.

Thirty minutes into their second leg against Paris Saint-German, the Catalan side were in a position of complete control. Raphina's 12th-minute strike had put Xavi's side 4-2 up on aggregate. Onlookers were happy to see the young talent of Lamine Yamal and Pedri combining with the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Ilkay Gundogan, and then a door opened for the visitors.

Ronald Araújo first gave away the ball before he was shown red for bundling over Bradley Barcola from the resultant chance after 29 minutes. Referee Istvan Kovacs was convinced of his decision despite fierce protestations from the defender, and VAR confirmed it.

The Barca ace was reluctant to leave the field and when he was eventually persauded to do so, a gesture followed. Araújo raise a signal with his hand: 'robbery' or 'thievery'.

It was a familiar face who compounded the Catalan giants' increasingly difficult situation. Former ace Ousmane Dembele narrowed the deficit just five minutes before half time and things did not improve in the second period.

Vitinha's strike saw the scorelines level on aggregate and Barca nerves fraught. Xavi did not take kindly to how things were developing.

The Barcelona legend was left frustrated by one decision from the official and unleashed his toys out of the pram by kicking a Champions League branded cushion of a pitchside camera. There was no shortage of verbal frustrations and he was quickly given his marching orders.

Just seven minutes on from Vitinha's 54th-minute goal, PSG found themselves with an opportunity to go in front at Camp Nou. Dembele proved problematic again as Joao Cancelo brought him down inside the area. Kylian Mbappe made no mistake from the spot.

There was still time for more frustration from the Barcelona bench however. Gundogan was denied a penalty and received a yellow card for his frustrations as a tempestous meltdown continued throughout the team.

It was Barcelona's goalkeeper coach Jose Ramon de la Fuente, who was to pick up the third red of the night such was his frustration and surprise that the decision did not go his team's way. A dramatic 30 minutes or so indeed.

The pain did not stop there for Barcelona however as Mbappe rounded off the night with a goal in the 89th minute. A brace against to help knock out the La Liga side will certainly go down well with future employers Real Madrid.

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