PSG tops Barcelona 4-2 in thriller, but Kvaratskhelia's torn ACL overshadows the win

Paris Saint-Germain came from behind twice to beat Barcelona 4-2 at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday night, ending Barcelona's unbeaten start to the season and moving the defending European champions to the top of the Champions League table with three wins from three. The result was overshadowed within hours by news that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, PSG's Georgian forward, had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the match and will need surgery, an injury that is expected to keep him out for several months.

Désiré Doué put PSG ahead in the 38th minute with a run through the center of the pitch finished from the edge of the box, a goal PSG's own match report described as coming after a misplaced Barcelona pass. Barcelona equalized through Xavi Espart in the 55th minute, finishing a pass from Fermín López, before Lucas Hernández headed PSG back in front from a corner in the 72nd minute. Nineteen-year-old Lamine Yamal leveled again in the 79th minute, exploiting a defensive mistake to make it 2-2 and extend his run of scoring in high-profile games. PSG settled the contest in the space of six minutes, with Vitinha scoring from the edge of the area in the 81st minute and Fabián Ruiz adding a fourth in the 86th after another run down the right from Achraf Hakimi.

A perfect start comes to an end

The defeat was Barcelona's first in any competition this season. Hansi Flick's side had won all 11 of their matches in La Liga and Europe heading into the game, a run that had been tied for the third-longest start by a club from one of Europe's top five leagues and the longest ever by a Spanish club, and they arrived in Paris having scored five goals in a league win over Real Betis three days earlier. FC Barcelona's own account of the match argued the scoreline was harsh given that Barcelona had come back twice and had been the better side for long stretches, including a spell either side of halftime when goalkeeper Joan García made several saves to keep the game level.

Flick, speaking afterward, did not dispute that his team had been second-best for periods of the match. "We made too many mistakes, especially in ball possession, easy ball losses," he said, according to ESPN's report from Paris. He also pointed to fatigue after a demanding run of fixtures, noting that the team's flight back from Seville after the Betis match had been delayed by storms, and played down the significance of an October result. "In October you can't win titles," Flick said. "You win the Champions League in June."

"It's only three more points, but it's always positive to defeat such a quality side," Luis Enrique said after the match, adding: "Now we have to keep going."

PSG's coach, speaking in comments published by the club, also praised the atmosphere inside the Parc des Princes and acknowledged a difficult opening quarter-hour of the second half, when Barcelona drew level and then went ahead on the night's run of play before PSG pulled away again.

Kvaratskhelia's knee overshadows the result

The win carried a heavy cost for PSG. In a medical bulletin issued the day after the match, the club confirmed that Kvaratskhelia had suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and would undergo surgery in the coming days, an operation that typically carries a recovery period of six to nine months for professional footballers. The 25-year-old had hit the post early in the game before going off. The same statement said winger Ousmane Dembélé, who was substituted in just the 20th minute, has a left thigh injury, and defender Marquinhos has a right thigh problem; both are expected to be in treatment for several weeks. The club did not specify how Kvaratskhelia's injury occurred, a diagnosis independently reported by ESPN.

The timing compounds an already thin run of form for PSG's squad depth in attack. Kvaratskhelia joined the club from Napoli in January and had become a regular starter under Luis Enrique, scoring in several of the team's biggest games last season on the way to PSG's run to Champions League success. Losing him for the bulk of the season, on top of Dembélé's injury, leaves PSG reliant on Doué, Vitinha, and academy forward Senny Mayulu to carry the attacking load in the coming weeks of Ligue 1 and Champions League fixtures.

What the loss means for Barcelona

For Barcelona, Tuesday's result ends talk of an unbeaten season but changes little in the broader picture. The club remains unbeaten domestically and sits with six points from three Champions League games, a tally that still places it among the competition's top performers heading into the next round of league-phase matches. Dani Olmo was substituted in the first half with an injury during his 100th appearance for the club, adding a second fitness concern of the night for Flick, who said Olmo would be assessed before Barcelona's next match.

That next match is the first Clásico of the season, at Camp Nou on Sunday against Real Madrid. A Barcelona win would put Flick's side nine points clear of Real Madrid in La Liga and extend the team's domestic winning streak to ten games, a scenario Barcelona's players and staff were already being asked about in the aftermath of Tuesday's defeat. Flick had already framed Tuesday's result in that light, telling reporters the Champions League table carries little weight this early in the season and that his priority was his players' freshness heading into the weekend.

What comes next

PSG's win, its third in as many Champions League group matches this season following an earlier 4-2 win away to Manchester City, puts Luis Enrique's side provisionally top of the 36-team league phase table on nine points, though several other clubs can still match that return as the competition's third round of fixtures concludes. The club does not play again in Europe until next month, with Ligue 1 matches in between in which Luis Enrique will have to manage his squad without three attacking players. Kvaratskhelia's surgery date had not been confirmed as of Wednesday morning, and the club said a further update would follow the operation.

Both clubs now turn to their immediate domestic commitments, with the shared Champions League record 4-2 scoreline, high-profile goals from two of the sport's most closely watched young attackers in Yamal and Doué, and the loss of a key PSG forward for months defining what was, by both clubs' own description, one of the league phase's marquee fixtures so far this season.