Brazil forward Raphinha has scored twice to help Barcelona secure a 3-2 win at Paris St Germain in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Thursday (NZ time).
Barca, five-times European champions, dominated proceedings early on against the French side still looking for a first Champions League crown and led through a Raphinha strike in the 37th minute.
However, PSG piled on the pressure after the break and levelled in the 48th minute through a stunning Ousmane Dembele strike into the top corner before going ahead when Vitinha stroked the ball in two minutes later.
But Raphinha's deft volley in the 62nd minute brought the match level again, before Andreas Christensen headed in from a corner 13 minutes from time to give the Spanish side a narrow advantage going into next week's second leg.
In the day's second tie, Atletico Madrid struck twice in a dominant first half but had to survive a late fightback from Borussia Dortmund before earning a 2-1 win.
The Spaniards, looking for their first semi-final spot in seven years, put the visitors on the backfoot with a frenetic high-pressing game and it paid off after four minutes with Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel delaying a pass to Ian Maatsen and Rodrigo De Paul intercepting it to slot in.
Dortmund struggled to get the ball out of their half and another defensive error allowed Samuel Lino, who will miss the return leg next week after being booked, to double their lead in the 32nd.
Lino thought he had scored again at the far post in the 75th but Kobel spectacularly palmed his point-blank effort wide before Sebastien Haller cut the deficit six minutes later to improve the Germans' odds going into next Wednesday's return leg. The Germans twice hit the woodwork late in the game.
Reuters.
