When Luis Enrique returned to Barcelona with his Paris Saint-Germain side, he did so in the knowledge that if the visitors won again they would become the first side in European football history to beat the Catalans in three successive away games.
They would have to do so with a vastly different XI than normal however as all of Ousmane Dembele, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, Joao Neves, Desire Doue and captain, Marquinhos, were injured.
Araujo and Lewandowski benched
For his part, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick had some injury issues of his own. Raphinha was missing along with Gavi, Fermin Lopez and goalkeeper, Joan Garcia, with Lamine Yamal only just returning from injury.
The German also made a big call by leaving captain, Ronald Araujo, and star striker Robert Lewandowski on the bench.
It was generational talent Lamine who really lit the blue touch paper in the opening two minutes of the match with an astonishing slaloming run that almost brought about the first goal through Ferran Torres.
The opening exchanges, particularly in midfield, were akin to a pinball machine, and it's a wonder that players from either side were able to maintain any sort of composure on the ball during that frenetic period.
Pedri and de Jong bring calm to the chaos
Step forward Pedri and Frenkie de Jong. The Barcelona pair, with 95.5% and 92.5% passing accuracy respectively overall, brought a modicum of calm to proceedings, and in so doing allowed the game to develop a pattern which initially favoured the hosts.
A brilliant passage of play as the game approached the 20 minute mark took PSG by surprise and Pedri was involved in a swift build up which ended when a stunning first-time cross from the ever-improving Marcus Rashford found Ferran to slide home the opener.
Even 'The Shark' looked surprised that he wasn't offside.
It was Rashford's fourth contribution (two goals, two assists) in his last three UCL games, and continued Barca's recent record of scoring at least once per match in the competition (22 games and counting).
Barca unable to stop marauding Mendes
That appeared to spark PSG into life, and de Jong was rightly carded after a nasty foul on the marauding Nuno Mendes.
The left-back would soon shrug off the pain to slice through Barca's back line and provide the assist for 19-year-old Senny Mayulu to equalise.
Mendes' 10 final third entries across the entirety of the game evidenced just how poorly he was marshalled by the hosts, whilst the 17 one-on-one duels he attempted in the match were, by far, the most of any player on the pitch.
That energy transmitted to teammates who, now back in the game, took it by the scruff of the neck and began to play Barca off the park.
Vitinha was having much more of a say even if his passing was a little wayward at times. 83.1% would be more than acceptable for most players, but not the Portuguese, who often hits the mid 90s.
Bradley Barcola was another relishing the freedom that poor Barca defending gave him, though the striker should've done much better when well placed leading into the break.
His nine touches in the opposition box were joint top with Achraf Hakimi, who would help to push PSG forward during the latter stages as Barca tired.
PSG in complete control
PSG started the second half in complete control and would force Wojciech Szczesny into a number of saves - five in total by the end of the match compared to none from his opposite number, Lucas Chevalier.
When the Barca keeper was beaten, Barca had Dani Olmo to thank for clearing off the line as the visitors' near 70% possession leading into the hour mark was starting to take its toll.
Lewandowski's introduction for Rashford in amongst a raft of Barcelona substitutions might be looked upon in hindsight as the moment which fully tipped the balance in PSG's favour.
Though the French giants still appeared to be the more likely to add to the scoreline, the Man Utd loanee was at the very least a viable out ball and still a willing runner.
The Polish international, by contrast, was immobile at best and completely insignificant at worst.
To give some context, in the 20 minutes that Lewandowski had on the pitch he touched the ball only four times, and lost possession with one of those.
No surprises when Ramos hit the winner
Marc Casado, brought on for Olmo at the same time, was booked within six minutes, and he too played little part in trying to get a winner for the hosts. 11 touches were slightly more than his contemporary, but he too lost the ball twice.
Lee Kang-in's shot against the woodwork with eight to play was a warning sign from the visitors that their preparedness to roll up their sleeves and put the opposition under pressure could still pay dividends.
Despite being depleted, there was only one team in it during the final stages, and it was no surprise when Goncalo Ramos latched onto Hakimi's pass to slam home a last-minute winner, his ninth in the competition to date.
That meant a loss for the Catalans after scoring the opening goal in the UCL for the first time since 16th April 2024, ironically against PSG (10 games without defeat), but they've only got themselves to blame.
Check out the match summary with Flashscore.
