Dembele fires PSG into UCL playoff

Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain ensured their qualifications for the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League, which occurred in style with a 4-1 demolition of Bundesliga side Stuttgart.

PSG had put themselves on the brink of month-long qualification after a stirring second-half comeback in their previous European outing against Manchester City. They also qualified after coming from a goal down to beat Club Brugge.

Although they seemed to have secured the ticket, they could only have crashed out of the Champions League with a catastrophically unlikely set of final-matchday results. 

Luis Enrique’s men focused on their game as they traveled to Stuttgart with a point to prove, having stuttered through most of their continental campaign last autumn.

They need just a few minutes to open the goals account through the main architect of last week’s remontada in Bradley Barcola.

The Frenchman, who was effectively PSG’s first foray forward of the game, headed home from close range at the back post after Ousmane Dembélé’s corner was spectacularly flicked over the top of the crowd by Désiré Doué.

The Parisians continued their relentless attacks, with an aggressively high line blunting any counter-attacks from the Germans. Barcola was again involved as the visitors doubled their lead. Dembélé converted his effort from close range after another piercing run from the former Lyon man down the left.

Désiré Doué almost made it three as he came within centimeters of emulating Dembélé from a similar Barcola cross but was denied by a last-ditch reflex save by Fabian Bredlow. The goalkeeper eventually conceded a third three minutes later, as Dembélé once again made the most of Stuttgart’s inexplicably high line, beating Bredlow with a powerful shot from the right.

The former Barcelona forward’s newfound efficiency in front of goal showed again as he continued where he left off in the first half, combining with Achraf Hakimi on the edge of the box to complete his first hat-trick since his Rennes days with a curled finish into the top-right corner.

PSG dropped their intensity in the final half-hour as Barcola was taken off. This gives the German Bundesliga side a chance and they scored.

Führich then pulled a goal back for the already-eliminated hosts, beating Pacho to Mittelstädt’s low cross to beat Donnarumma.