Barcelona-PSG Champions League player ratings: Pique and teammates let Messi down; Mbappe, Verratti brilliant

Barcelona were absolutely demolished by Kylian Mbappe and PSG on Tuesday in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16. The French striker scored a delightful hat trick, while the hosts were humbled and look surely to be on the verge of elimination from the competition. 

But how did each player perform in this one? Here are our player ratings for the match for every starter, substitute and manager.

All ratings are out of 10, and the higher the number the better. A zero would be a first-minute red card. A 10 would be like a dominant hat trick.

Want more coverage of the world’s game? Listen below and subscribe to ¡Qué Golazo! A Daily CBS Soccer Podcast where we take you beyond the pitch and around the globe for commentary, previews, recaps and more. 

Barcelona

GK – Marc-Andre Ter Stegen: He made some really terrific stops in the first half, including a near goal from Layvin Kurzawa. He could do nothing on Kylian Mbappe’s opener and his defense hung him out to dry the rest of the way. Rating: 6

DEF – Sergino Dest: A positive for Barca with well-timed tackles and great energy in the first half, but his positioning was quite poor in the second as Barca were chasing the match and Kylain Mbappe took advantage of Barcelona chasing the match. Rating: 6

DEF – Gerard Pique: Reacted poorly on the opener, looking a step too slow. And it got worse from there. He didn’t even look like a decent backup at Barca tonight, which says a lot considering their backline has been awful. Rating: 2

DEF – Clement Lenglet: He was taken to school by Mbappe. His quickness, and his positioning was also poor. He knew where Moise Kean was on his goal but failed to handle the situation. Rating: 3

DEF – Jordi Alba: Got forward well down the left early on but faded as the match went on. Showed tremendous effort to get back defensively, but his side was constantly outnumbered. Rating: 4

MID – Sergio Busquets: Hardly noticeable to be blunt. Overrun in the middle and taken off in the second half. Like Pique, he looked like his best days are well behind him. Rating: 4

MID – Pedri: The bright spot early on, showing tremendous effort and playing some dangerous balls. He deserves more minutes for that creativity, which is absent way too often from the rest of the Barcelona side. Rating: 6

MID – Frenkie de Jong: Not sharp on both ends of the pitch, but he did win a penalty and had a great block in the box. He didn’t get to see as much of the ball as he would have liked, hampering his ability to contribute going forward. Rating: 5

FWD – Antoine Griezmann: Wasted one great chance and one good chance in the first half. Really could have scored, but much like the rest of his Barcelona career, below average. Rating: 4

FWD – Ousmane Dembele: Pace but very little else. Was given a great ball from Messi and did nothing with it in the first half. Time to send him away. Rating: 3

FWD – Lionel Messi: Scored the goal in the first half after sending in the ball that resulted in the penalty kick. Won a dangerous free kick, should have had an assist to Dembele, but other than that, he was quite quiet, taking only two shots, one of which was the penalty. Rating: 5

SUB – Oscar Mingueza: Came on to help the defense, and PSG scored moments later. Rating: 5

SUB – Francisco Trincao: Had one decent moment down the left before being gobbled up by the PSG defense but only got 12 minutes. Rating: 5

SUB – Riqui Puig: Didn’t get enough time to make an impact and the game was already over anyway. Rating: N/A

SUB – Miralem Pjanic: Came on to add something in attack and didn’t get the chance to do it. Rating: N/A

SUB – Martin Braithwaite: No disrespect, but the way to get back into this tie isn’t to bring on Braithwaite at all, let alone with five minutes to go. Rating: N/A

MANAGER – Ronald Koeman: Outclassed as a club manager, which seems like a weekly theme. At what point will club officials realize Koeman the manager is nowhere near the quality of Koeman the player? Clueless, not a motivator and not worthy of managing at this level. Rating: 1

Paris Saint-Germain

GK – Keylor Navas: Sharp when needed in the first half but nothing he could do to keep Messi out from the spot — nobody could have. Not tested as much as Ter Stegen in the second half but bizarrely almost gifted Barcelona a second. Rating: 5

DEF – Alessandro Florenzi: Run ragged in the first half. Barca regularly got in behind him and he was one of two major weak links along with Idrissa Gueye. Improved in the second half and put in the ball that provided Mbappe with the second goal. Rating: 5

DEF – Marquinhos: A solid showing from the skipper as the defense improved as the match wore on. Rating: 6

DEF – Presnel Kimpembe: Dependable enough alongside Marquinhos although Barcelona did not test them nearly enough in the second half. Rating: 6

DEF – Layvin Kurzawa: Penalized for the penalty but responded well and came close to scoring after playing a role in Mbappe’s equalizer and was more impressive after that. Rating: 6

MID – Idrissa Gueye: Perhaps not as worrying as Florenzi but he was a ticking timebomb after his first booking and was lucky to not pick up a second. Logically withdrawn at the break. Rating: 4

MID – Leandro Paredes: Crunched into tackles with relish and delivered Kean’s goal with an excellent free kick. Rating: 6

MID – Marco Verratti: Magnificent. Decisive at both ends with a perfectly timed tackle at one and then a piece of brilliance to create Mbappe’s first goal at the other. Dictated the pace until Pochettino withdrew him to avoid potential suspension. Rating: 9

FWD – Moise Kean: Sharp, despite his wide berth. Got off a snap effort that Ter Stegen did well to keep out and worked hard on the right all night. Got PSG’s third with a well-taken header from Paredes’ ball in. Rating: 8

FWD – Kylian Mbappe: Tormented Barca’s defense and was denied early on by Ter Stegen before making no mistake with a predatory piece of finishing after Verratti teed him up. Slammed in his second before curling in his third to complete a memorable hat-trick in a coming-of-age performance. Rating: 10

FWD – Mauro Icardi: Wasted a good chance at 0-0 but made up for it with some good hold up play and a header that was inches from making it 2-1. Will not be thanked for his misses, but nonetheless contributed. Rating: 6

SUB – Ander Herrera: Smart move to withdraw Gueye and replace him with a more reliable but equally energetic defense-minded midfielder. Rating: 6

SUB – Julian Draxler: Sufficient creativity to replace Verratti once the damage was done in order to protect the Italian from potential suspension. Rating: N/A

SUB – Danilo Pereira: Solid option from the bench as Pochettino withdrew Kean to kill the game off. Rating: N/A

SUB – Thilo Kehrer: Another defensive change as Pochettino plugged any potential gaps at the back with minutes left. Rating: N/A

MANAGER – Mauricio Pochettino: Near-perfect game plan that saw PSG grow in confidence and power after falling behind in the first half. A statement performance and result from the new boss. Rating: 9