 battled past visitors Bayern Munich 5-4 in a thrilling UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg.){kind=link}
Defending champions Paris St Germain (PSG) battled past visitors Bayern Munich 5-4 in a thrilling UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg, which had a record number of goals at this stage of the competition.
England striker Harry Kane converted a 17th-minute penalty to beat PSG goalkeeper Matvei Safonov. However, PSG equalised through winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia with a trademark move and a low shot after cutting into the box.
The home side then went ahead in the 33rd minute with a glancing header from midfielder Joao Neves. 2-1!!
There was plenty of drama left in the first half with Michael Olise making amends for his earlier miss and drawing Bayern level with a 41st-minute shot after being given far too much space around the box.
PSG were then awarded a stoppage-time penalty and Ousmane Dembele powered his spot kick past Manuel Neuer to put them back in front. 3-2!!!
The first leg semi-final of the UEFA Champions League encounter between the French and German giants recorded five (5) goals in a thrilling first half.
In the second half, PSG picked up where they left off and carved out a two-goal lead when Kvaratskhelia drilled in a 56th-minute effort. 4-2!!!
The French side struck again before Bayern had any time to recover, this time Dembele beating Neuer once more with a low drive.
The hosts looked to be running away with the game but Bayern refused to buckle and fought back with two goals of their own in a three-minute span from Dayot Upamecano and Luis Diaz. 5-4!!!
The match pitted the most attacking Champions League teams of the season against each other and it quickly lived up to its billing with a relentless pace.
In a match that will go down as a classic, PSG came from a goal down to lead 5-2, before Bayern struck twice in three minutes just before the hour to improve their chances for next week’s return leg in Munich as the match ended 5-4.
“We’re really happy, and I think we deserved to win, but we also deserved a draw, and we would have even deserved to lose, because this game was that incredible,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique.
“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.”