Star power takes center stage in Champions League quarter-finals | OneFootball

“Defense wins championships”. It’s a very common cliche to use when describing what is needed to achieve greatness. However in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final, there was sufficient evidence to support an alternative idea. The more present theme was moments of brilliance, which carried both Barcelona and PSG to convincing victories in their respective matches.

The night didn’t start off well for the Parisians. Aston Villa found a breakthrough in the 35th minute after a ball across goal found its way to the feet of Morgan Rogers, who gave the visitors a 1-0 lead.

When the away team goes up a goal in a cup competition, it can be common for them to play more defensive. After their goal, Villa wouldn’t register a shot on target for the rest of the game. It's in moments such as these that opposing teams turn to their stars for a stroke of genius. PSG wouldn’t have to wait long for this moment to come. In a team full of stars, it was 19 year-old Désiré Doué who stole the show.

Désiré Doué after scoring his third goal in the Champions League this season | Jean Catuffe/GettyImages

The Frenchman received a pass from Nuno Mendes, and let his imagination flow. Doué cut inside past Rogers and fired home an outrageous effort in the top corner. Despite the shot being worth 0.01xG (a 1% chance ou a one-percent chance of scoring), it didn’t stop the youngster from finding the back of the net.

What makes Paris such a good team is the fact that they have multiple players who can pull off flashes of brilliance. In the 49th minute, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia decided that it was his turn to carry the load. The Georgian picked up the ball on a counter-attack, rolled the ball past Axel Disasi, and fired home a shot worth 0.05 xG.

Paris Saint-Germain v Aston Villa FC - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Quarter Final First Leg | Jean Catuffe/GettyImages

Despite those two shots having a combined xG of 0.06, the brilliance of Doué and Kvaratskhelia means that Paris now has the upper hand going into next week's contest against Birmingham.

In the other match it was a similar story for Barcelona against Dortmund. The two players who stole the headlines (per usual) were Lamine Yamal and Raphinha. The former Leeds player had a historic performance, becoming the first player in Champions League history to have more than 10 goals and more than five assists in a single campaign. Yamal didn’t do half bad either. After the Brazilian scored early on in the first half, the Spaniard took over in the second. His first impact came midway through the second half, in the 66th minute. Yamal played a defense splitting pass to Fermin Lopez, who then cut it back to Lewandowski, who made the lead three to nothing.

FC Barcelona v Borussia Dortmund - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Quarter Final First Leg | Pedro Salado/GettyImages

Yamal would then pair up with his partner in crime, Raphinha, just 11 minutes later. Following some mistakes from Dortmund, Barca’s number 11 found himself in some space. The Brazilian played an inch perfect pass to Yamal, who then displayed some brilliance. The teenager opted for a toe-poke, rooting goalkeeper Gregor Kobel to the ground

The performance from the wingers now means that Barcelona are all but through to the semi-finals, they are practically all the way in. While the Spanish side, like PSG, are well-balanced, it was star power which propelled both teams to convincing victories.