Khvitcha Kvaratskheliya and Ousmane Dembele scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain beat Bayern Munich 5-4 in a historic first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, an extraordinary encounter that became the highest-scoring match ever at this stage of the competition.
It was a thrilling first half on Tuesday night, with Harry Kane giving Bayern the lead from a penalty before Kvaratskhelia equalized before Joao Neves put the hosts ahead at a thrilling Parc des Princes.
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Michel Olise made it 2–2, but a Dembélé penalty in first-half stoppage time put the defending champions ahead at the interval.
Kvaratskhelia, arguably this season’s Champions League standout, and Dembele both scored again to put PSG out of sight, only for Dayot Upamecano to pull one back before Luis Diaz made it 5–4.
An unforgettable game – perhaps even better than last season’s semi-final between Inter Milan and Barcelona – wonderfully sets up next Wednesday’s clash at the Allianz Arena between the two best teams on the continent at the moment, with a place assured of the final in Budapest on 30 May.
Luis Enrique’s Parisians will return to Munich – the scene of their 5-0 victory over Inter in last year’s final – with an advantage, but Bayern will be confident they can overcome the narrow deficit at home.
The French champions are trying to become the second team in the modern Champions League era to retain the trophy, while the German champions are hoping to reach the final for the first time since 2020, when they defeated PSG to lift the trophy for the sixth time.
Vincent Kompany’s side arrived in Paris having scored 167 goals this season, led by the remarkable Kane, who had scored 53 times in 45 matches.
Coming off the back of Bayern’s impressive win over Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, there was a lot riding on this encounter, but it was an instant classic as both teams displayed their devastating firepower.
Bayern went ahead in the 17th minute when Willian Pacho cut down Diaz and Kane made no mistake from the resulting penalty to take the score to 54 for the campaign.
Diaz’s double helped the visitors win 2–1 in the league stage here in November and they were the better team early this season.
But their front-foot approach left them vulnerable to counterattacks, and Dembele should have equalized before the equalizer came just after the midpoint of the first half.
Kvaratskheliya’s talent on the wing has regularly been the difference for PSG recently, and he broke past Josip Stanisic on the left before cutting inside and firing into the far corner.
Neves headed home Dembélé’s corner in the 33rd minute following a classic Kvaratskhelia goal.
However, the action had barely begun when French international Olisse headed into the PSG box before scoring his 20th of the season to make it 2–2.
PSG were then awarded a penalty late in the first half when Dembele’s cross hit the arm of Alphonso Davies, the Canadian making his first Champions League start this season after injury.
This was given by the Swiss referee after a VAR check, and Dembele beat Manuel Neuer to make it 3–2 at the interval – a lead which PSG added to after the restart, leaving Bayern stunned.
Kvaratskhelia won 4–2 with an assist from Achraf Hakimi in the 56th minute, giving the Georgian his seventh goal in seven matches in the knockout stage.
Bayern were not yet able to reset, before Dembele surprised Neuer with a low shot at the near post and made the score 5–2 with his second of the night.
But Bayern’s work was not done, as Upamecano headed home Joshua Kimmich’s free-kick to make it 5–3, taking Kompany’s team tally of the season to 170.
Diaz, who was sent off in the November meeting, was then played over the top and dribbled past Marquinhos before slotting in for the final goal of the night.
Kompany, who was watching from the stands due to suspension, will have been pleased with his team’s response – even if he may have been relieved to see Seni Mayulu’s late strike for PSG come back off Neuer’s crossbar.
Kane told reporters after the game that he was proud of his teammates who battled back.
“It shows the character of our team. It’s happened to us this season where we’ve come back from behind and it’s good to know we can do it at the highest level,” he said.
“I think we come in knowing that we could hurt them.”
Atletico Madrid host Arsenal in the first leg of the second semi-final on Wednesday night.
