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MOTD halftime- Barcelona 0-0 Paris Saint-Germain

By on April 10, 2013

Paris Saint-Germain have started their Champions League Quarterfinal second leg against Barcelona brightly, with the absence of Messi hurting Barca.  Barcelona started the match playing their usual tiki-taka style, and Xavi almost put them up after only two minutes when his curling free-kick from the edge of the box beat PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu, but skimmed just wide of the far post.  Despite barely seeing the ball in the opening minutes, PSG settled into the match, with Lucas Moura’s low drive from the edge of the box forcing a good save out of Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes.  PSG became more and more confident, and the French side did not let Barca spend too much time on the ball.  The match started to become very open, and Sirigu pushed Pedro’s low cross away just before it reached Xavi, before Iniesta did well to hit a drive straight at Sirigu in the twenty-fourth minute.  Seconds later PSG almost got in front when Zlatan Ibrahimovic played a brilliant through ball to Ezequiel Lavezzi who was making a run into the box.  Lavezzi took one tough to control it, before hitting a low shot that an oncoming Valdes awkwardly palmed away.

PSG became more and more threatening, and they almost went up in the twenty-eight minute when Marco Verratti chipped the ball over the Barca defense for Ibrahimovic.  Ibrahimovic took the ball down the left side of the box, before curling in a cross to Moura at the far post, who forced Valdes to punch his blazing header out for a corner.  Barca recovered after PSG’s short spell of dominance, but couldn’t find the back of the net, with David Villa and Cesc Fabregas both shooting over the bar, and after a minute of added time, the first half ended 0-0.  With the match still there for the taking, the second half is sure to be exciting, so look out for my full time review, right here on Football Every Day!

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.