We've reached halftime in Paris and despite have the better of the chances, Paris Saint-Germain were unable to take advantage of their strong first half play and remain scoreless against Barcelona.
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Barcelona, 2013 UEFA Champions League: Halftime score 0-1, Lionel Messi has Blaugrana up
While the hosts have looked threatening, only Barcelona have been able to find a goal at Parc des Princes.
David Ramos
It was all Barcelona early in terms of possession but Paris Saint-Germain were generating the more dangerous chances on goal.
PSG broke open the Barcelona defense early and came ever so close to opening the scoring in the 4th minute. Javier Pastore's initial pass found Ezequiel Lavezzi in space in the Barca area and forced a left-footed tackle by Sergio Busquets that took the ball off the striker's foot but also sent it off the far post.
Andres Iniesta unlocked PSG's back line with a clever ball of his own in the 9th minute, nearly connecting with David Villa who just missed directing the ball on goal with a sliding attempt. PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu was in the right spot though and happily smothered the ball.
David Beckham got a chance at one of his patented free kicks in the 13th minute but it was dealt with by the Barcelona defense. PSG did end up with a good shot on goal during the sequence though after they regained control and moved the ball around to Javier Pastore who sent a blistering low shot in that Victor Valdés fumbled but was ultimately able to cover up.
In the 26th minute Lucas Moura showed off his ridiculous speed, leading a lighting quick breakaway counter by PSG and finding Zlatan well positioned at the near post. The Swedish striker’s shot looked on target but rolled just wide of the post.
After a frenzy of action in the Barcelona have near the 30 minute mark, the game settled down considerably in the final 15 minutes of the half and just when you thought things were going to go PSG’s way, Barcelona struck.
In the 38th minute, Dani Alves' lovely chip over the PSG defense found Lionel Messi alone on the right side of the area, one-on-one with Sirigu. Messi forced the keeper to commit and then sent a low shot across the goal and into the net, just inside the far post.
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