Paris: Paris St Germain buried the ghosts of their embarrassing 2017 exit as they drew 1-1 at home with Barcelona on Wednesday to complete a 5-2 aggregate victory that sent them into the Champions League quarterfinals.
Four years after Barca claimed a memorable 6-1 win to overturn a 4-0 first-leg deficit in the last 16, PSG lacked inspiration but their 4-1 advantage from the first game in Spain was sufficient this time.
Kylian Mbappe, who scored a hat-trick at the Nou Camp, opened the scoring with a penalty against the run of play before Lionel Messi levelled with a superb long-range goal, but the Argentine had a spot-kick saved by Keylor Navas on the stroke of half-time.
The French champions were on the back foot in the second half as Barca piled on the pressure but Barca exited the competition before the semifinals for the second year in a row.
Barca's exit ensured it will be the first time since 2005 that neither Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo will be in the Champions League quarterfinals after Juventus were also knocked out in the last 16, on Tuesday.
"We suffered a lot in the first half, and psychologically it was a test for us. I gathered that the past was something that was talked about a lot here," PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino said.
"We were better in the second half, we were more competitive."
Barca coach Ronald Koeman tried to remain upbeat.
"We are departing this Champions League in a very different manner from the way we did last season. In this game, we hit our level and that's the road we have to follow," said Koeman, referring to the team's 8-2 aggregate defeat in the quarterfinals by Bayern Munich last year.
PSG, without injured forward Neymar, looked nothing like the team who reached last year's final or hammered Barcelona three weeks ago, but they did keep their composure at the back.
Second-half goals from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane eased Liverpool into the quarterfinals with a 2-0 second-leg win over RB Leipzig, to complete a comfortable 4-0 aggregate victory.
Liverpool, leading 2-0 from the first-leg yet struggling in the Premier League after six straight home defeats, had several chances to extend their advantage in the first half but lacked sharpness in front of goal.
Both legs of the last-16 tie were played at the Puskas Arena in the Hungarian capital due to Germany's COVID-19 related travel restrictions.
