Just when Montjuïc roared, clinging to the hope that there might be a way back into this, one last chance to see Barcelona reach the semi-final for the first time in five years, there was Kylian Mbappé and his Paris Saint-Germain teammates sprinting across the running track in celebration. Two goals down from the first leg, one down in the second, Luis Enrique’s side had come back to lead 3-1 in the second, 5-4 overall, but had been on edge until the very last minute. When, at last, they broke away and silenced the Olympic Stadium.

It had been a long night for them, and even longer for Barcelona. A goal up through Raphinha, they had gone down to ten men because of a red card for Ronald Araújo and been forced to resist for just too long, goals from Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola and Mbappé giving them a 3-1 lead that they clung to in those late, tense minutes before they finally made it safe, Achraf Hakimi dashing clear to set up three successive shots which ended with Mbappé finally applying the finish.

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• Champions League updates, 8pm BST kick-off ( first leg: 3-2 )
• Live scoreboard | Read Football Daily | And send Scott a mail

Since Barcelona won the Champions League in 2015 under Luis Enrique, they’ve been on the wrong end of three second-leg comebacks in Uefa’s flagship competition. A 2-0 defeat at Atlético Madrid in 2016 after a 2-1 home win. A 3-0 capitulation at Roma in 2018 after a 4-1 home win. That four-goal mauling by Liverpool in 2019 after a 3-0 victory at Camp Nou. Would it complete a narrative arc if they somehow threw away a first-leg lead yet again, against a Paris Saint-Germain team now managed by Luis Enrique? Well, no, not really. But it would still be something. Barça are favourites to progress to a semi-final against either Borussia Dortmund or Atlético Madrid having won 3-2 in Paris last week; the French champions require a superstar performance from Kylian Mbappé if they’re to stop Barça gaining revenge for their 5-2 aggregate victory over the Catalans in 2021. Whatever happens, one big team will be crashing out tonight, so with everything on the line this promises to be a cracker. Kick-off at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona is at 8pm BST, 9pm local. It’s on!

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• Germán Burgos sacked by Movistar Plus+
• Barcelona and PSG refused to give interviews

The Spanish TV station Movistar Plus+ has fired the analyst Germán Burgos after Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain refused to give interviews to the network on account of his comment about Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal before Wednesday’s Champions League match.

Movistar Plus+ had earlier apologised to Yamal after Burgos, a former Argentina goalkeeper and assistant manager at Atlético Madrid, said “if [professional football] doesn’t go well for him, he could end up at a traffic light”.

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The knockout stages have finally started to deliver, with standout performances from Phil Foden, Antoine Griezmann and Barcelona’s reluctant fullback

Perhaps the quarter-finals are where the Champions League can be counted to catch light. This week’s first legs saw goals aplenty, with a mix of veteran and young guns starring, with each second leg set up for even more excitement.

Goalkeeper: Jan Oblak, Atlético Madrid

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On a gripping, frantic night at the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona produced a game that felt like the opposite of the “Barca DNA” Xavi had spoken about in the build-up to this quarter-final first leg.

Never mind control, patterns and a fight for space. This was an increasingly wild game, building from a mannered start into a second half of sweeping mob-handed attacks, feather-light defending and chances that simply came and went, posts clipped, shots blocked in desperation.

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• Updates from the 8pm BST kick-off at the Parc des Princes
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Here’s the full set-up for both sides.

PSG: Donnarumma, Marquinhos, Hernández, Lucas Beraldo, Mendes, Lee, Vitinha, Ruiz, Dembélé, Asensio, K. Mbappé

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• Spain to deploy 2,000 officers at Real Madrid v Manchester City
• French interior minister says IS ‘specifically targeted’ stadiums

Police in Madrid and Paris have stepped up security before this week’s Champions League quarter-finals following an apparent threat from Islamic State (IS).

Although Spain’s interior ministry stressed the country’s terror alert remained at level four of five, it said 2,000 officers from the National Police and Guardia Civil forces would be deployed to help municipal police patrol Real Madrid v Manchester City on Tuesday and Atlético Madrid v Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, which will both be played in the capital.

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• Premier League clubs to meet in semi-finals if they progress
• Atlético v Dortmund, plus PSG v Barça completes last eight

Manchester City and Arsenal will meet in an all-Premier League Champions League semi-final should the former beat Real Madrid and the latter overcome Bayern Munich in their respective quarter-finals.

Friday’s draw for the quarter and semi-finals of Europe’s premier competition pitted City against Real for a third successive year, the previous two occasions having been in the last four. In 2022, the Spanish giants defeated Pep Guardiola’s side on their way to a record 14th triumph. Last season City prevailed en route to beating Internazionale 1-0 in the final to claim the treble.

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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang cannot stop scoring for new manager Jean-Louis Gasset

By Eric Devin for Get French Football News

Ligue 1 clubs are being rewarded for making bold choices to change managers this season. Lyon under Pierre Sage are not yet mathematically safe but, with six teams and as many points separating them from the relegation playoff spot, they look set to keep their place in the top flight. Rennes under Julien Stéphan will be chagrined to have conceded stoppage-time equalisers in two of their last three matches, but they are still very much in the running for Europe and are still in the Coupe de France. Nantes are still in a bit of bother, but a win against Strasbourg on Sunday would go a long way towards securing survival for Jocelyn Gourvennec’s team.

The recent appointment of Jean-Louis Gasset, seemingly the most desperate of the season in France, is proving the most inspired. Marseille have won all five of their matches under Gasset, scoring 18 goals and conceding just three. Given his ignominious departure from his position as Ivory Coast manager in January, Gasset looked to be nothing more than an experienced pair of hands. But his cool temperament and understanding of French football has made him better suited to the pressure cooker at the Stade Vélodrôme than his predecessor, Gennaro Gattuso.

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