The match between FC Barcelona and Paris Saint Germain in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg was a highly tense affair. The history of animosity between the two clubs came to the fore in this tie, as the Parisians fought to take revenge for the 6-1 humiliation in 2016.
PSG were also reeling from their wounds of conceding three goals at their home ground in the first leg of the tie. Thus, they celebrated with their hearts out as they came from behind to get a 6-4 victory on aggregate and advance to the next round of the tournament.
However, according to Mundo Deportivo, the Parisians’ celebrations were not always fully considerate of the people associated with Barcelona, and in fact, some of these celebrations actually caused a conflict between the PSG and Barcelona players.
It was the French forward Kylian Mbappe, who had scored two goals on the night, and whose actions led to mayhem in the locker room tunnel after the full-time whistle. The Frenchman entered the tunnel in a very excited way, and shouted in Spanish: “This is football, and it’s on the field where we have to speak.”
Several Barcelona players took these comments as contemptuous, and went to confront the World Cup winner. In a matter of seconds, a crowd of around 60 people formed in the tunnel, which included the players, coaching staff, and security personnel, with insults and shouts going off in every direction. However, fortunately, there were no physical attacks involved.
In addition to this fight in the tunnel, the French forward was also seen making inconsiderate gestures towards the Barcelona fans seated nearest to him as he left the pitch after celebrating the win with his teammates.
Thus, the Frenchman left Montjuic making himself only a bigger villain for Barcelona fans than they already considered him to be. With his move to Real Madrid likely to occur this summer, this animosity between the player and the fans is not looking like ending any time soon.
