Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich served up an entertaining nine-goal thriller in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal on Tuesday night in Paris.
After a relatively quiet opening, the game sparked into life when Willian Pacho fouled Luis Díaz in the box, with Harry Kane converting the resulting penalty in the 17th minute for his 54th goal of the season.
Just seven minutes later, Paris were level as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia cut inside Josip Stanišić before curling a wicked effort beyond Manuel Neuer for his sixth goal in his last six Champions League appearances.
João Neves, who had already scored against Bayern in the league phase earlier this season, got on the scoresheet again just after the half-hour mark, rising highest to send a glancing header in from Ousmane Dembélé’s corner to make it 2-1.
There was barely time to draw breath before Bayern equalised again in the 41st minute, Michael Olise displaying his trademark fancy footwork to tiptoe into the box before fizzing a fierce effort past Matvei Safonov.
Just when it seemed the scores would be level going into the break, there was another twist as Alphonso Davies handled in the box and Dembélé calmly converted from the spot to give Paris a slender 3-2 advantage after a dazzling first half.
After the restart, Paris came out at breakneck speed. Kvaratskhelia grabbed his second in the 56th minute by tucking in Achraf Hakimi’s cross before Dembélé scored his second and PSG’s fifth with a powerful near-post strike two minutes later.
With the score at 5-2, Bayern looked down and out, but they somehow clawed their way back into the contest. Dayot Upamecano nodded in from Joshua Kimmich’s free-kick in the 65th minute, and just three minutes later, Luis Díaz brilliantly controlled Kane’s long ball before bending his finish into the far corner.
That proved to be the end of the scoring on an unforgettable evening, with all attention now turning to the return leg in Munich next Wednesday.
Reacting after the match, PSG coach Luis Enrique told Canal+:
“I’ve never seen a game with that rhythm before. You have to congratulate the opponents, the players. When you hold a 5-2 lead like that, the opponents take so many risks.
“They’re a top-level side. It was difficult and the second leg will be too. You have to enjoy it and you have to recognise this is just the third game Bayern have lost all season. We’re really happy, and we deserved to win, but we also deserved a draw, and we would have even deserved to lose, because this game was that incredible.”
And Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany admitted his side had endured a difficult night in Paris.
“We suffered but we were dangerous. Five goals away from home in the Champions League normally means you’re out but the chances we had made us believe.
“If you’ve got nothing at the game at 5-2 then it’s hard to make a case to turn it around but being as dangerous as we were then I feel like it’s about getting your head back in the game and take our chances. We’re at home with 75,000 people in the stadium next week. We want that weight to be there and then anything can happen.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal and Atlético Madrid will lock horns tonight in the second semifinal clash.
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