Ahead of the second leg of Barcelona's Champions League quarter-final with Paris Saint-Germain, Blaugrana boss Xavi promised "a footballing war" on Tuesday. What he didn't account for, though, was just how much of a role he and his own team would play in their own downfall.
The soon-to-depart coach lost his head as madness unfolded before him at the Olympic Stadium, with mistakes from Ronald Araujo and Joao Cancelo - combined with clinical finishing from Kylian Mbappe - meaning Barca blew the aggregate lead they had built up from the first leg, and which they soon added to thanks to Raphinha's third goal of the tie.
Araujo's moment of madness, however, changed the coiurse of Barca's European adventure. Just under 30 minutes in, the Uruguayan defender dragged down Bradley Barcola as he ran through on goal, leaving the referee with no choice but to send him off.
The Parisians, predictably, capitalised, piling on the pressure as Luis Enrique switched his system to allow his side to pour forward. In the end, it was Ousmane Dembele who took advantage, finishing a well-crafted move with an emphatic effort into the roof of the net. The visitors then completed their turnaround after the break, as Vitinha levelled the tie with a guided strike from outside the box before Kylian Mbappe converted from the spot either side of Xavi losing his head and seeing red himself.
Mbappe rounded out the scoring shortly before the full-time whistle, reaping the benefits of another Blaugrana blunder - this time a poor clearance from Jules Kounde - to smash home with from close-range.
By the end of it all, Xavi's footballing war had ended in defeat, as PSG's players celebrated banishing the ghost of La Remontada. Barca, meanwhile, were left to rue their mistakes and wonder what might have been if they had simply kept their heads on the night.
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