L’Equipe hails ‘saviour’ Kylian Mbappe for making Barcelona ‘his garden’ after scoring twice in stunning comeback… but Xavi and his team are SLAMMED for their sorry Champions League exit with three players rated just 3 out of 10

L’Equipe praised Kylian Mbappe for making Barcelona ‘his garden’ as Paris Saint-Germain staged a stunning comeback to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Mbappe was one of five PSG players to earn a rating of 8 out of 10 after scoring his side’s third and fourth goals as the Ligue 1 champions set up a semi-final against Borussia Dortmund.

“He was expected to be the savior, and in the end he was,” wrote L’Equipe, noting that Barcelona was now “his garden” after the French star scored a hat-trick at Camp Nou in the first stage of the Tour of 16. years ago.

But there was no praise for Xavi and his players as the Catalans imploded in spectacular fashion after a man was sent off on Tuesday evening.

The ratings of the French newspaper can be notoriously harsh and Barcelona averaged just 4.2 out of 10 after crashing out of Europe with a 4-1 defeat at home in the second leg of their quarter-final.

Robert Lewandowski was one of three Barcelona players to receive a rating of 3 out of 10

Kylian Mbappe was one of five PSG players to earn an 8 out of 10 after scoring twice

Robert Lewandowski, Jules Konde and Joao Cancelo were ranked as the worst performers, receiving a score of 3 out of 10, the same rating as Xavi.

Lewandowski’s miss in Barcelona’s 1-0 draw was one of the ‘turning points of the match’, according to L’Equipe.

Meanwhile, Cancelo had a ‘night to forget’ after giving away a second-half penalty for a foul on Ousmane Dembele, while Kounde was ‘managed like the rest of his teammates’.

Barcelona won the first leg 3-2 at the Parc des Princes last week and extended their lead early in the second leg, with Raphinha powering home Lamine Yamal’s cross after 12 minutes.

It was the perfect start for Barcelona, ​​but the color of the match changed dramatically on the half-hour when Ronald Araujo was judged to have brought down Bradley Barcola just before bursting into the penalty area.

PSG restored parity just before half-time thanks to a smart finish from Dembele, and they were level ten minutes into the second half when Vitinha’s shot flashed through a crowd of players from the edge of the penalty area and past Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.

Xavi and Barcelona goalkeeper coach Jose Ramon De la Fuente Rodrigo were both subsequently sent off by Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs because he protested when another decision went against the hosts.

L’Equipe questioned Xavi’s decision to replace Yamal after Arajuo’s red card, but admitted the Spaniard’s plans were complicated by the absence of Andreas Christensen.

Raphinha was the only Barcelona player to receive a rating of 6 out of 10

Joao Cancelo also received a score of 3 out of 10 after giving away a penalty in the second half

But Luis Enrique was rated 8 out of 10 for turning the tie around after PSG trailed 4-2 early in the second leg.

Raphinha, who scored twice in the first leg, was Barcelona’s best player on the night, earning a grade of 6 out of 10 for his ‘combatant and compelling’ contribution.

Unsurprisingly, the picture was very different for PSG, whose average rating was 7 out of 10.

In addition to Mbappe, Barcola, Vitinha and Dembele also received an 8 out of 10, as did Marquinhos, who delivered a ‘captain’s performance’ and suppressed Lewandowski throughout the match.

There was also plenty of praise for Luis Enrique, who became the first manager since Mauricio Pochettino three years ago to take PSG to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

L’Equipe praised the Spaniard for keeping his promise that his team would qualify.

“When he builds a cohesive team by putting players in their positions, you immediately see the difference,” it said.