Paris staged a nine-goal Champions League classic as holders Paris Saint-Germain beat Bayern Munich 5-4 in the first leg of their semi-final.
Key moments
– 17′: Harry Kane (pen) opens the scoring for Bayern.
– 24′: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia levels with a superb strike for PSG.
– 33′: João Neves heads PSG ahead from a corner.
– 41′: Michael Olise powers home to make it 2-2.
– 45+5′: After a VAR review for an Alphonso Davies handball, Ousmane Dembélé converts the penalty to put PSG in front.
– 56′: Kvaratskhelia sweeps home his second of the night.
– 58′: Dembélé curls in PSG’s fifth.
– 65′: Dayot Upamecano nods Bayern back into the game.
– 68′: Luis Díaz scores after VAR overturns an offside flag.
The contest — in which Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer did not have a single save to make — became the first European semi-final in which both teams scored four or more goals. It is also the joint-highest scoring semi-final in European Cup history, level with Rangers’ 6-3 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960.
First half and the fightback
A frantic first half finished 3-2 to PSG after Dembélé’s stoppage-time penalty. Kane had given Bayern an early lead from the spot for his 59th goal of the season for club and country, but Kvaratskhelia’s brilliant equaliser and João Neves’ header put PSG ahead before Olise restored parity. Late in the half a pitchside VAR review judged Davies’ deflection a handball, allowing Dembélé to send PSG into the break in front.
Early in the second half Kvaratskhelia and Dembélé struck again within 143 seconds to make it 5-2 and seemingly put the tie beyond Bayern. The visitors, however, responded through Upamecano’s header and a composed finish from Díaz — the latter originally ruled offside but reinstated by VAR — to set up a tense finish and leave the aggregate finely balanced ahead of next Wednesday’s return in Munich. If five goals are scored at the Allianz Arena, the tie would become the highest-scoring Champions League knockout tie on aggregate.
Post-match reactions
Dembélé told Canal+ Foot: “It was a match between two great teams who attack, who don’t hesitate. We’re happy with the result, even though at 5-2 we stopped playing a bit towards the end. We’re not going to change our philosophy. We’re going to attack, and they’re going to attack too. So I think it’s going to be a great second match.”
Kane, speaking on Amazon Prime, praised the defending despite the nine goals, saying there was “some amazing defending” and complimenting the quality of the players on show. Wayne Rooney disagreed, suggesting both sides defended poorly. Jamie Carragher argued on CBS Sports that the game was a display of excellent attacking football, with forwards operating at a high level and goals stemming from quality offensive play rather than blatant errors. Thierry Henry, also on CBS Sports, applauded the adventurous approach taken by both teams and said the match rebutted claims that football can be dull.
Records and statistics
– This tie sits among the highest-scoring knockout aggregates in Champions League history; other high-scoring examples include Inter 7-6 Barcelona (2024/25 semis), Liverpool 7-6 Roma (2017/18 semis) and Bayern 12-1 Sporting CP (2008/09 round of 16).
– Luis Enrique notched his 50th Champions League win in his 77th match — the quickest to reach that milestone in the competition.
– This is the first Champions League season with two teams on 40+ goals: PSG (43) and Bayern (42).
– PSG converted all five of their shots on target — the first recorded instance (since 2003–04) of a team scoring with five or more shots on target in a Champions League knockout match.
– Dembélé has been directly involved in more Champions League knockout goals for PSG than any other player this season (11 goals, 7 assists).
– Since joining PSG last year, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been involved in 20 Champions League goals (13 goals, 7 assists), second only to Harry Kane (21) among recent arrivals.
– Kane became the first English player to score in six consecutive Champions League matches.
The tie now heads to Munich with PSG holding a 5-4 lead, and both clubs — along with pundits — expect another open, attack-minded second leg.