FC Barcelona suffered their first defeat of the 2026-27 season in their last UEFA Champions League game as they travelled to Paris and were beaten by Paris Saint-Germain, the current European champions, 4-2.
The Catalans stood on equal terms at 2-2 by the 80th minute, but two goals in the last ten minutes of the game from the Parisians meant they were unable to keep up their winning run.
Hansi Flick highlighted several reasons why his team had to suffer this defeat, including fatigue and lack of time for proper preparation. Meanwhile, another aspect that has been highlighted as a cause for the Blaugranes’ defeat, although not by Flick himself, is the lack of players, especially in defense, as Eric Garcia, Jules Kounde, and Andreas Christensen were all unavailable for this game.
As a result, the German coach had to rely on Alejandro Balde, who has played very few minutes this season, when he subbed out Xavi Espart, [who was feeling discomfort](https://barcanewsnetwork.com/xavi-espart-injury-concern-emerges-after-impressive-barcelona-display-against-psg/) after scoring his team’s first goal. Balde was fielded on the left flank, while Joao Cancelo was shifted to the right-back position.
The Portuguese fullback has been criticized for the last goal conceded by the Catalans, and as [Mundo Deportivo](https://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/fc-barcelona/20261022/1004242031/cancelo-estalla-criticos.html) has reported, he took to social media to answer these critics. He shared an image on Instagram with the message:
**“From the stands, everyone is an expert. I’d like to see them step onto the pitch and handle the pressure.”**
The fullback attributed these words to a professor of Portuguese language, Professor Marcela Mattos, and this post was accompanied with Michael Jackson’s song, “They don’t really care about us”. In another of the photos he published, he wrote:
**“I’m the one who cannot afford to doubt myself.”**
There is no doubt that Joao Cancelo has played at a very high level since joining Barcelona last summer. Hopefully, he will get back to his best level as the Blaugranes host Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the season this Sunday.