High in the Olympic stadium, the flares were lit. Way below, Kylian Mbappé had lept over the advertising boards and was running towards the 3,000 supporters who had travelled from France, his teammates chasing him across the track, celebrating wildly. There was a solitary minute remaining and, for all their domination, it had been on edge, but now it really was over: Paris Saint-Germain are heading into the semi-final of the Champions League, overturning a 3-2 first leg defeat at the Parc des Princes with a 4-1 victory in Catalonia; Barcelona, for a sixth season in a row, are not.
This time, though, there was no collapse, and no shame. Barcelona had won away and although they had suffered here, they had competed against a side who may well be considered a favourite to reach the final, hanging on long enough to launch a late reaction that allowed them to believe in a way back, one last, unlikely chance. In the final minute, though, that hope was taken away when PSG, who had come from one down from the first leg and one in the second to lead 3-1 here, were able to run.
