Gianluigi Donnarumma was accused of a ‘crime’ by Rio Ferdinand as he stayed on his line and watched Andreas Christensen head in a winner for Barcelona against Paris Saint-Germain.
It was a thrilling contest in the French capital, with Raphinha giving Barca a first half lead before the home side came roaring back after the break.
Ousmane Dembele fired in an equaliser just after the interval and Vitinha but PSG ahead moments later.
However, Barca regrouped, with Raphinha scoring a brilliant second and then Christensen headed in the winner from a corner to give Xavi’s team a narrow lead going into the second leg of the quarter-final.
Ferdinand pointed the finger squarely at the PSG goalkeeper for the third Barcelona goal, saying his confidence was rocked by poor attempts at dealing with crosses in the first half and the Italian should have claimed the ball before Christensen met it.
‘I think the goalkeeper in the first half makes two mistakes from crosses and I think in his head he’s saying, “I’m going to stay on my line no matter what now and let the responsibility fall on the defenders to defend this set-piece”,’ Ferdinand said on TNT Sports.
‘That’s in his six-yard box, he’s 6/7″ or so. That’s a crime almost, not coming in your six-yard box and claiming that.
‘It wasn’t a ball that was too high it was there to be attacked, but the impact of the first half mistakes lead to that. That’s a player at the top of the game that is having to adjust his approach to a certain set-piece because of performance.’
Former Liverpool and England striker Peter Crouch added: ‘The first half scarred him. He came out, flapped at a couple and obviously didn’t want to come out again.’
PSG boss Luis Enrique said of the defeat: ‘It was a pity because I think we started the match properly and in a good mood. Disappointing after we conceded the goal.
‘Second half started in the best way but suddenly we suffered the second goal. We created some chances but for us it’s a pity. There’s still the spirit to go to Barcelona and try to win.’
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