Mbappé scores twice as PSG beats Barcelona to reverse 1st-leg loss and reach Champions League semis

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Playing with an extra man for more than an hour, Paris Saint-Germain rallied against Barcelona to reach the Champions League semifinals.

Kylian Mbappé scored twice as PSG reversed its first-leg loss at home with a 4-1 win at Barcelona on Tuesday to advance 6-4 on aggregate and keep alive its hopes of a first European title in what is the France star's final season with the club.

Former Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembélé and Vitinha also scored for PSG, which took advantage of a 29th-minute red card to Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo after he fouled Bradley Barcola while trying to stop a breakaway.

“When it was 11 against 11 we were well organized. The sending off changes everything. The match changed completely,” said Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández, who was later sent off himself for complaining. “We would have liked to play PSG 11 against 11. That should not have been a red card.”

Barcelona had gotten off to a good start and opened the scoring with a goal by Raphinha in the 12th, but the visitors took control with the man advantage and didn't let Barcelona get back into the game. Xavi had to replace young forward Lamine Yamal with defender Iñigo Martínez after the red card to Araujo, who was deemed by the referee to be the last defender when he fouled Barcola.

PSG is back in the semifinals after two consecutive eliminations in the round of 16.

“I feel very proud," said PSG coach Luis Enrique, a former Barcelona player and coach. “We showed what we wanted to do here today. We conceded a goal, but we stayed intact mentally. We continued to play, to attack. We did everything we could to be better than Barcelona. My players showed a lot of character, a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of desire.”

The Catalan side, which won the first leg 3-2 in Paris last week, made it to the knockout stage of Europe's top club competition after back-to-back eliminations in the group stage.

In the other quarterfinal on Tuesday, Borussia Dortmund defeated Atletico Madrid 4-2 at home to advance 5-4 on aggregate. PSG and Dortmund will meet in one of the semifinals.

Mbappé scored his goals in the 61st and 89th minutes. The France star is hoping to win what would be a first Champions League title for himself and for PSG before he leaves the club.

Barcelona opened the scoring in its first attack with a fortuitous goal by Raphinha after Lamine Yamal’s low cross from the right side bounced off the shin of the Brazil forward and went into the net.

PSG equalized about 10 minutes after Araujo was sent off, with Dembélé finding the net by the far post after a cross by Barcola. Dembélé, named the man of the match, was loudly jeered by the Barcelona crowd when he was substituted in the final minutes. He had also scored in the first leg in Paris.

“We didn’t give up, we knew we were going to score goals here,” Dembélé said. “A big shift from the whole team. We worked the entire week, tactically, with the coach. His tactics were perfect. Even though we conceded the first goal, we didn’t let our heads drop. We continued to believe.”

PSG took the lead when Vitinha fired a low shot from outside the area in the 54th. The visitors increased their lead when Mbappé converted a penalty kick after Dembélé was brought down by João Cancelo inside the area.

Barcelona had chances to get back into the game, with Ilkay Gündogan hitting the post in the 56th and both Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha squandering chances toward the end of the match.

Mbappé's second goal came from close range in a breakaway in the final minutes. He has now scored at least 40 club goals in all competitions for the third time in four seasons with PSG. He has scored 13 goals in his last 13 Champions League matches.

Xavi was sent off after kicking a cushion protecting a sideline camera in the 56th.

PSG's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

PSG's Kylian Mbappe celebrates at the end of the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

PSG's Kylian Mbappe scores his side's 3rd goal on a penalty kick during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Raphinha, left, celebrates with Barcelona's Lamine Yamal after scoring the opening goal during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Raphinha, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Raphinha celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Raphinha celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

PSG's Kylian Mbappe, top, is challenged by Barcelona's Ronald Araujo during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

PSG's Ousmane Dembele, right, celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Barcelona's Ronald Araujo, center left, and PSG's Kylian Mbappe go for a header during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Ronald Araujo, left, gets a red card by referee Istvan Kovacs during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

PSG's Kylian Mbappe scores his side's 3rd goal on a penalty kick during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

PSG's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

PSG's Kylian Mbappe scores his side's third goal during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

PSG's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Elly De La Cruz's 443-foot home run into the bullpen sent a few Padres relievers scrambling out of the way, and Nick Lodolo combined with two relievers on a four-hitter and struck out 11 as the Cincinnati Reds beat San Diego 5-2 on Monday night.

The Reds retired 23 straight batters from the second inning into the ninth and had a combined one-hitter going into the final frame.

Lodolo (3-0) retired his final 18 batters after issuing consecutive walks to open the second inning. Fernando Cruz pitched a perfect eighth and Alex Díaz retired the first two batters of the ninth before Jake Cronenworth doubled and scored on Manny Machado's single. Xander Bogaerts singled before Ha-Seong Kim struck out.

If Cronenworth hadn't gotten the hit, it would have been the first time in Padres history that a leadoff homer was their only hit.

“It felt good. I definitely got synced up there, especially after that second inning,” Lodolo said. “It's pretty good.”

Lodolo was making his fourth start of the season. He missed the last 4 1/2 months of last season with a stress reaction in his left tibia.

“It's just about me getting in rhythm,” he said. “I've done a lot of stuff to put me in a good spot to succeed. I feel confident and overall my work leading into a start now is a lot better than it used to be.”

The Padres have lost a season-high five games, a streak that started Thursday when they blew a 9-4 lead in the eighth inning at Colorado and lost 10-9. They were swept during the weekend by the Philadelphia Phillies, who hit nine home runs.

De La Cruz got this series going with an impressive homer with one out in the first. Knuckleballer Matt Waldron (1-3) struck out Will Benson on three pitches and got ahead of De La Cruz at 0-2. Batting lefty against the righty, the 22-year-old star drove a 91 mph sinker to left-center, where it bounced out of the Padres' bullpen and flew over the Reds' bullpen to a row of seats at the back of the ballpark.

With eight homers and 17 stolen bases in April, De La Cruz became the sixth player since at least 1901 to record seven homers and 15 steals in a calendar month.

The Padres tied it on Jurickson Profar's leadoff homer, his fourth. But the Reds regained the lead in the second on a single, a double, Santiago Espinal's sacrifice fly and Waldron's balk. Benson hit a leadoff double in the third and scored on Spencer Steer's one-out double.

Lodolo walked Xander Bogaerts and Ha-Seong Kim opening the second, but then struck out the side. He then cruised through five perfect innings.

“He was outstanding. Give him a lot of credit. He has such a good feel for how his body works,” said manager David Bell, who added that pitching coach Derek Johnson noticed something early. “Nick was able to make the adjustment on the fly. It says a lot about his level of confidence and understanding in what he needs to do to be successful. After that, it was just great. Great fastball, started with that. Used his changeup, really good curveball. Just a great mix of pitches.”

Waldron allowed six runs and four hits in six innings, struck out four and walked none.

UP NEXT

Reds RHP Nick Martinez (0-1, 5.48 ERA) is scheduled to start Tuesday night against his former team. The Padres will activate RHP Yu Darvish (0-1, 4.18) from the injured list to make his first start since April 14. He was placed on the injured list with neck tightness on April 17.

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San Diego Padres' Jurickson Profar, left, celebrates with teammate Fernando Tatis Jr. after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Monday, April 29, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres' Jurickson Profar celebrates after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Monday, April 29, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Nick Lodolo works against a San Diego Padres batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Monday, April 29, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz, left, celebrates with teammate Spencer Steer after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Monday, April 29, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz, right, celebrates with third base coach J.R. House (56) after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Monday, April 29, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz celebrates after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Monday, April 29, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)