The fireworks began a few moments before the kick-off of this Champions League semi-final first leg, in the stands. Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich continued it on the pitch.
Just after a quarter of an hour of play, the Bavarian club won a penalty following an irregular tackle by Pacho on Luis Diaz. Harry Kane transformed the sentence by wrong-footing Matveï Safonov (0-1, 18th). The capital club quickly equalized, thanks to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s “special”. The Georgian international found the small opposite net of Manuel Neuer (1-1, 24th).
After half an hour, João Neves gave the reigning European champions the lead following a corner, with a sumptuous uncrossed header (2-1, 33rd). Frenchman Michael Olise tied the two teams with a powerful shot under the crossbar (2-2, 41st). In stoppage time in the first period, referee Sandro Schärer awarded a penalty to the Parisians after consulting the VAR. By transforming it, the 2025 Ballon d’Or allowed PSG to return to the locker room with a lead on the scoreboard (3-2, 45th+5).
Prolific PSG, Bayern keeps all its chances
The second half was just as prolific. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored twice with a shot from the right (4-2, 56th), quickly imitated by Ousmane Dembélé with a shot on the ground (5-2, 58th). While the Rouge et Bleu seemed to have taken a considerable advantage for the final, even before the return match, Bayern Munich came back, with goals from Dayot Upamecano (5-3, 65th) and Luis Diaz (5-4, 68th).
It has been 31 years since Bayern Munich last conceded five goals in the Champions League. This shows the Parisian performance, which would have been even more remarkable without this difficult end to the match. Everything therefore remains open for the return match, which will take place on May 6 at the Allianz Arena.
