Paris vs Barcelona: UEFA Champions League background, form guide, previous meetings

Paris Saint-Germain hold a three-goal cushion thanks to Kylian Mbappé's stunning hat-trick at the Camp Nou as Barcelona come to the Parc des Princes for the second leg of this UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie.

• Although Barcelona produced a famous fightback against Paris at this stage in 2016/17, that second leg took place at their home stadium, where Lionel Messi's 27th-minute penalty opened the scoring in the first leg of this tie. Mbappé quickly levelled, however, and struck twice more in the second half either side of a Moise Kean goal to make the final score 4-1 and become the first visiting player to score three times in a UEFA Champions League match at the Camp Nou since Andriy Shevchenko for Dynamo Kyiv in 1997.

• While a hat-trick from Neymar – who inspired Barcelona's record-breaking comeback against Paris four years ago – on Matchday 6 this season helped secure the French club's place in the round of 16 as Group H winners, Barcelona had to settle for second position in Group G after closing their campaign with a heavy home defeat against Juventus to end their long unbeaten run at the Camp Nou in the UEFA Champions League.

• Those losses to Juventus and now Paris mean Barcelona have suffered successive home European defeats in the same season for the first time.

• Since the group stage concluded Paris have replaced Thomas Tuchel with Mauricio Pochettino, who knows the city of Barcelona well as both player and coach.

Previous meetings
• Barcelona and Paris's last tie, in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League round of 16, proved one for the ages. The French side looked to be easing through after a 4-0 first-leg win at the Parc des Princes, Ángel Di María scoring twice and Julian Draxler once, only for Barcelona to run out 6-1 winners at the Camp Nou with Neymar scoring twice. A Layvin Kurzawa own goal and Messi's penalty also helped the Spanish side turn round the tie, Sergi Roberto scoring the decisive goal five minutes into added time.

• Paris and Barcelona faced each other four times in 2014/15. In the group stage, Paris recorded a 3-2 home victory with Marco Verratti on target; Messi and Neymar found the net for Barcelona. When the teams met again on Matchday 6, the Catalan club secured top spot in Group F with a 3-1 home win, recovering from Zlatan Ibrahimović's opener thanks to Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez.

• Neymar scored three goals in Barça's 5-1 aggregate win against Paris in that season's quarter-finals, one in a 3-1 first-leg win at the Parc des Princes and both in a 2-0 home victory at the Camp Nou.

• In the 2012/13 quarter-finals Barcelona beat Paris on away goals after two draws – 2-2 at Parc des Princes, 1-1 at the Camp Nou. Messi was on target in the first leg in Paris.

• The sides' first UEFA Champions League meeting came in the 1994/95 quarter-finals, Paris prevailing 3-2 on aggregate. A 1-1 draw in Spain was followed by a 2-1 home victory at the Parc des Princes, Raí and Vincent Guérin scoring in the last 18 minutes.

• Barça have won four of the last six fixtures between the clubs, although Paris have scored four goals to win the other two games in that sequence; before that the Spanish side had triumphed in just one of six games, with three drawn. That success came in the 1997 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final, Ronaldo getting the only goal in Rotterdam.

Form guide
Paris
• Paris have won five of their seven games in this season's competition, including the last four, the success in Barcelona following victories at home against Leipzig (1-0) and away at Manchester United (3-1) before they booked their round of 16 place with a 5-1 home win against İstanbul Başakşehir on Matchday 6 that also secured first place in Group H. They also beat the Turkish club 2-0 away on Matchday 2, in between 2-1 defeats at home to United and away to Leipzig.

• Ligue 1 champions for the seventh time in eight years in 2019/20, and ninth time overall, Paris also won both domestic cups last season. This is the French side's ninth successive UEFA Champions League campaign and 13th in total.

• Paris reached their first European Cup final last season, only to lose 1-0 to Bayern in Lisbon. They had beaten Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 (1-2 a, 2-0 h), Atalanta in the one-off quarter-final (2-1) and Leipzig (3-0) in the semi-final en route to the decider.

• The Parisians have now reached the knockout stages on their last nine UEFA Champions League appearances, although 2019/20 marked their first semi-final appearance since 1995. They suffered three successive last-16 defeats prior to last season.

• Under Tuchel, the French club finished first in a section also including Real Madrid, Club Brugge and Galatasaray in 2019/20. They won five of their six games, drawing the other, and conceded only two goals to finish five points above Madrid.

• Paris had scored in 34 successive UEFA Champions League games, matching the competition record set by Madrid between 2011 and 2014, before drawing a blank in last season's final. They have found the net in all seven matches this term and also in their last 22 UEFA Champions League matches at the Parc des Princes.

• Paris have won 17 of their last 25 UEFA Champions League matches (D3 L5). The Matchday 1 defeat by United was one of only four in their last 58 European home games (W38 D16).

• Paris's round of 16 record is W5 L3; last season's comeback win against Dortmund ended a run of three consecutive round of 16 eliminations that began with that 2016/17 tie against Barça.

• The first leg of this tie was only Paris's third win in their last 12 matches against Spanish clubs, home and away (D2 L7).

• Paris have lost two of their last five games against Liga clubs at the Parc des Princes, where their overall record against Spanish visitors reads W8 D5 L3.

• The French club's record in two-legged ties against Spanish sides is W5 L4. Those four defeats have come in the four most recent contests, three against Barcelona and, most recently, against Real Madrid in the 2017/18 round of 16 (1-3 a, 1-2 h).

• Paris have not beaten a Liga club in a knockout tie since eliminating Valencia 3-2 on aggregate at this stage of the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League; the 4-0 first-leg win against Barcelona in 2017 is their only success in their last five knockout matches with Spanish side at the Parc des Princes (D2 L2).

• Paris won the first 15 UEFA competition ties when they recorded a first-leg away victory, although the 16th and most recent, against Manchester United in the 2018/19 round of 16, ended in elimination on away goals (2-0 a, 1-3 h). This is the first of those ties in which the away first leg has finished 4-1.

• Paris's European penalty shoot-out record is W0 L1:
3-4 v Rangers, 2001/02 UEFA Cup third round

Barcelona
• Barcelona were beaten 3-0 at home by Juventus on Matchday 6, relinquishing top spot in Group G to the Italian side on head-to-head record despite a 2-0 victory in Turin in the second round of fixtures. Ronald Koeman's side recorded two wins against both Ferencváros (5-1 h, 3-0 a) and Dynamo Kyiv (2-1 h, 4-0 a) and sealed their place in the round of 16 with two matches to spare. However, the reverse against Juve meant they failed to win their section for the first time since 2006/07.

• That Matchday 6 loss was Barcelona's first in 39 UEFA Champions League home matches, a run that started in September 2013 (W34 D4); a 5-1 defeat of Lyon in the 2018/19 round of 16 second leg eclipsed the previous competition record of 29 set by Bayern München between March 1998 and April 2002.

• Defeat by Juve also ended Barça's four-year, 25-match unbeaten run in the UEFA Champions League group stage (W19 D6), since a 3-1 reverse at Manchester City on Matchday 4 in 2016/17.

• Second in the Spanish Liga behind Real Madrid last season, this is Barcelona's 25th UEFA Champions League campaign, a competition record they share with Madrid. They are in the round of 16 for the 17th successive season.

• In 2019/20, Barcelona picked up 14 points to finish four clear of Borussia Dortmund in their section, collecting seven points both home and away.

• Having replaced Ernesto Valverde with Quique Setién as coach, the Blaugrana then saw off Napoli in the round of 16 (1-1 a, 3-1 h), only to suffer their heaviest European loss in the quarter-finals in Lisbon as they went down 8-2 to Bayern.

• Despite losing their last two matches, Barcelona have still suffered only five defeats in their last 39 UEFA Champions League fixtures (W24 D10).

• Barça have won only nine of their last 20 away matches in European competition (D7 L4), although they are unbeaten in their last seven (W5 D2), winning all three this season under Koeman.

• Barcelona have appeared in 13 successive UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, a competition record. They last failed to reach the last eight in 2006/07, the previous season before this in which they failed to win their group.

• Barcelona's record in UEFA Champions League knockout phase ties in which they played the second leg away is W4 L9, with aggregate defeats on the last three occasions and also in both previous round of 16 ties.

• Barcelona have been European champions on five occasions, most recently in 2015 after beating Juve 3-1 in the final. Koeman, who succeeded Setién as coach in August, scored the winner in their first final victory against Sampdoria in 1992.

• Messi's goal against Ferencváros on Matchday 1 made him the first player to score in 16 successive UEFA Champions League campaigns. All four of his goals in the competition this season have been penalties.

• Already the youngest player to score in the UEFA Champions League, Ansu Fati was also on target at home against Ferencváros; Pedri's strike meant for the first time in the competition's history, two players under 18 had found the net in the same match.

• Fati's goal on Matchday 1, aged 17 years 355 days, made him the first player to score more than once in the UEFA Champions League before his 18th birthday.

• Barcelona have been in the round of 16 every year from 2004/05 onwards, winning 14 of those 16 ties. They lost two of the first three, most recently on away goals against Liverpool in 2006/07 (1-2 h, 1-0 a), but have won their last 13 – including against Napoli in 2019/20.

• A 1-0 victory at Manchester United in the 2018/19 quarter-final first leg is Barcelona's only success in nine away UEFA Champions League knockout games (D3 L5), since a 2-0 victory at Arsenal in the 2015/16 round of 16. The wins against United and Arsenal are their sole successes in the last 11 such contests, with six defeats.

• Barcelona's record in two-legged ties against Ligue 1 opponents is W5 L3; after losing the first three contests they have won the last five, most recently beating Lyon at this stage of the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League (0-0 a, 5-1 h).

• The Blaugrana's record away to French sides is W4 D4 L4; they have won on only one of their last seven visits to France (D4 L2).

• This is the first time Barcelona have suffered a home first-leg reverse in UEFA competition since that aggregate defeat by Liverpool in 2006/07. That was the fifth tie in which they were beaten in the home first leg, and their fifth aggregate loss. They have never previously lost a home first leg 4-1 or by a margin of more than two goals.

• Barcelona's record in six UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W5 L1:
5-4 v AZ Alkmaar, 1977/78 UEFA Cup second round
3-1 v Ipswich Town, 1977/78 UEFA Cup third round
4-1 v Anderlecht, 1978/79 European Cup Winners' Cup second round
5-4 v IFK Göteborg, 1985/86 European Champion Clubs' Cup semi-final
0-2 v Steaua Bucureşti, 1985/86 European Champion Clubs' Cup final
5-4 v Lech Poznań, 1988/89 European Cup Winners' Cup second round

Links and trivia
• Neymar scored 105 goals in 186 games in all competitions for Barcelona between 2013 and 2017, when he joined Paris. He got the last goal in their 3-1 victory against Juventus in the 2015 UEFA Champions League final, and won two Liga titles and three Copas del Rey during his time in Spain, plus the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup.

• Rafinha was a Barcelona player between 2006, when he joined the club aged 13, and departing for Paris in October 2020. He scored 12 goals in 90 appearances for the senior side after making his debut in 2011, and was part of the squad that won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup – scoring in a 5-4 win against Sevilla – and FIFA Club World Cup in 2015. He helped the club win three Liga titles and also lifted the Copa del Rey five times, having loan spells at Celta Vigo in 2013/14 and 2019/20.

• Mauro Icardi, who grew up in the Canary Islands and represented local club Vecindario as a schoolboy, was part of the Barcelona youth system between 2008 and 2011 before leaving for Sampdoria, where he made his professional debut.

• Have played together:
Sergio Rico, Pablo Sarabia & Clément Lenglet (Sevilla 2016–18)
Moise Kean & Miralem Pjanić (Juventus 2016–19)
Moise Kean & Neto (Juventus 2016/17)
Alessandro Florenzi & Miralem Pjanić (Roma 2012–16)
Marquinhos & Miralem Pjanić (Roma 2012/13)
Leandro Paredes & Miralem Pjanić (Roma 2014/15)

• Mitchel Bakker and Sergiño Dest were both part of Ajax's youth set-up between 2012 and 2019; Frenkie de Jong was also at the club from 2015 onwards.

• Have also played in Spain:
Keylor Navas (Albacete 2010/11, Levante 2011–14, Real Madrid 2014–19)
Sergio Rico (Sevilla 2006–19)
Juan Bernat (Valencia 2011–14)
Alessandro Florenzi (Valencia 2020)
Ander Herrera (Real Zaragoza 2008–11, Athletic Club 2011–14)
Pablo Sarabia (Real Madrid 2004–11, Getafe 2011–16, Sevilla 2016–19)
Ángel Di María (Real Madrid 2010–14)

• Have played in France:
Clément Lenglet (Nancy 2010–17)
Samuel Umtiti (Lyon 2002–16)
Miralem Pjanić (Metz 2004–08, Lyon 2008–11)
Ousmane Dembélé (Rennes 2010–16)
Martin Braithwaite (Toulouse 2013–17, Bordeaux 2018 loan)

• International team-mates:
Juan Bernat, Pablo Sarabia, Ander Herrera & Jordi Alba, Sergi Roberto, Sergio Busquets, Ansu Fati (Spain)
Layvin Kurzawa, Presnel Kimpembe, Kylian Mbappé & Samuel Umtiti, Clément Lenglet, Ousmane Dembélé, Antoine Griezmann (France)
Thilo Kehrer, Julian Draxler & Marc-André ter Stegen (Germany)
Danilo Pereira & Francisco Trincão (Portugal)
Marquinhos, Neymar & Philippe Coutinho, Neto (Brazil)
Ángel Di María, Leandro Paredes & Lionel Messi (Argentina)

• Umtiti, Dembélé, Griezmann, Kimpembe and Mbappé were all in France's victorious squad at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Mbappé's double helped France to a 4-3 defeat of Messi's Argentina in the round of 16.

• Griezmann got both goals as France beat Julian Draxler's Germany 2-0 in the UEFA EURO 2016 semi-finals in Marseille.

• Griezmann became the first French player to score against a French club in a UEFA final with his two goals in Atlético de Madrid's 3-0 win against Marseille in the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League decider in Lyon.

• Pochettino played for Barcelona's city rivals Espanyol between 1994 and 2001, when he joined Paris, and again between 2004 and 2006, scoring 15 goals in 318 games for the club in all competitions. He lost nine of his 13 games against Barça as a player (W1 D3).

• Pochettino was also Espanyol coach from January 2009 to November 2012, his first match a goalless draw against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey. His record against Barcelona while in charge of Espanyol and Tottenham was W1 D5 L6, the solitary victory a 2-1 Liga success at the Camp Nou on 21 February 2009.

Latest news

Paris
• UEFA Champions League squad changes
In: None
Out: Bandiougou Fadiga (Brest, loan), Maxen Kapo, Kays Ruiz-Atil

• Alessandro Florenzi and Danilo's next appearances in UEFA club competition will be their 50th.

• Paris were 3-0 winners at Brest in the last 32 of the Coupe de France on Saturday, Kylian Mbappé scoring twice to make it seven goals in his last four matches.

• Following their win in Barcelona, Paris went down 2-0 at home to Monaco on 21 February before victories at Dijon on 27 February (4-0) and Bordeaux on 3 March (1-0).

• The defeat against Monaco was Paris's sixth in Ligue 1 this season. The last time Paris lost more than five league games in a season was in 2010/11, when they were beaten eight times and finished fourth.

• Mbappé scored two goals against bottom side Dijon to become the first player to hit 98 Ligue 1 goals before his 25th birthday since Bernard Lacombe in 1977. Mbappé is 22.

• Mbappé is Ligue 1's top scorer after 28 rounds of fixtures with 18 goals, matching his total for the 2019/20 campaign, which was ended after 28 games. He struck 33 goals to top the Ligue 1 charts in 2018/19.

• Danilo scored his first goal for Paris in Dijon, when midfielder Édouard Michut made his professional debut five days before his 18th birthday.

• Sarabia scored the only goal in Bordeaux, his fifth in the league this season – one more than in 2019/20. He was also on target in the cup at Brest.

• Ángel Di María limped off 11 minutes into a 2-0 victory at Marseille on 7 February having suffered a right thigh injury, returning as a second-half substitute at Brest.

• Marco Verratti missed the wins at Dijon and Bordeaux due to a foot injury sustained in training on 27 February, but played 74 minutes at the weekend. Thilo Kehrer was replaced at half-time at Brest due to a hamstring problem.

• Florenzi (adductor) has not played since the home loss to Monaco.

• Neymar had to be replaced 61 minutes into the 1-0 French Cup win at Caen on 10 February due to an adductor problem and has not played since.

• Juan Bernat is still sidelined by a knee ligament injury and has again not been included in Paris's UEFA Champions League squad.

• Neymar was included in the UEFA.com fans' Men's Team of the Year 2020.

Barcelona
• UEFA Champions League squad changes
In: None
Out: Carles Aleñá (Getafe, loan)

• Barcelona are unbeaten in the Liga since a 2-1 loss at Cádiz on 5 December; their record since is W13 D3. They were 2-0 winners at Osasuna on Saturday.

• Barça have 56 points after 26 Liga games, one more than at this stage last season.

• Ronald Koeman's side were beaten 2-0 at Sevilla in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg on 10 February but recovered to win the return 3-0, Martin Braithwaite scoring the decisive goal in extra time.

• In the final for the seventh time in eight years, Barcelona will play Athletic Club in Seville on 17 April.

• Barcelona have kept clean sheets in their last four games in all competitions, scoring ten goals themselves.

• Ilaix Moriba set up Francisco Trincão's first goal in a 5-1 home victory against Alavés on 13 February; aged 18 years 25 days, he was the youngest player to provide an assist on his Liga debut in the 21st century. He scored the second goal at Osasuna on Saturday.

• Jordi Alba opened the scoring at the weekend, his fourth goal in his last nine matches in all competitions.

• Lionel Messi's red card in the 3-2 Super Cup final against Athletic on 17 January was his first ever for Barcelona.

• Gerard Piqué suffered a knee injury against Atlético de Madrid on 21 November, making his return in the first leg against Paris. He suffered a knee sprain in the Copa del Rey game against Sevilla that is expected to keep him out for at least three weeks.

• Philippe Coutinho has been out since 30 December due to a knee injury.

• A knee problem has kept Ansu Fati on the sidelines since 8 November.

• On 30 January Sergi Roberto made his comeback from a muscle injury that had kept him out since November, but then picked up a hamstring injury in a 5-3 Copa del Rey win at Granada on 3 February and has not played since.

• An ankle injury kept Ronald Araújo on the sidelines between 7 and 27 February, when he returned as a substitute in a 2-0 Liga win at Sevilla, although he subsequently suffered a relapse and had to be replaced himself.

• Miralem Pjanić was withdrawn at half-time of the 3-0 league win at home to Elche on 24 February with an ankle problem, and has not played since, although he was an unused substitute on Saturday.

• Messi was included in the UEFA.com fans' Men's Team of the Year 2020, the 12th time he has featured.