Paris St Germain (PSG) on Tuesday reached the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, despite a 1-0 home defeat to holders Bayern Munich, as they progressed on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate result in a thriller that was on a knife-edge until the final whistle.
Striker Eric Choupo-Moting scored the only goal before the interval, but it was not enough to overturn the German side’s 3-2 loss in last week’s first leg.
Mauricio Pochettino’s PSG side, who struggled at times in Munich, had the clearest opportunities, but lacked efficiency: Neymar hit the woodwork twice and Kylian Mbappe’s speed proved tough to handle, but brought no end product.
Photo: AFP
Bayern eventually paid for the absence of injured striker Robert Lewandowski and forward Serge Gnabry, who had tested positive for COVID-19, while PSG managed to live without captain Marquinhos and midfielder Marco Verrati.
“Normally, my team has so much quality in the final third, but today they were lacking that final punch,” Bayern coach Hansi Flick said.
“Now we’re in the semi-finals and we can dream big,” Neymar said.
Without the injured Marquinhos, Danilo started alongside Presnel Kimpembe in central defense for the French champions, while Bayern were also without Leon Goretzka in the midfield.
Bayern applied pressure early on, but PSG threatened on the counter, with Mbappe and Neymar having early chances in a start strewn with errors.
The visitors had their first attempt in the 25th minute, when Leroy Sane’s curled short from outside the penalty box went just wide.
PSG then came close on a quick break, as Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer denied Neymar in a one-on-one after the Brazilian had been found unmarked by Mbappe.
Neymar was at it again three times in a handful of minutes with a powerful shot that Neuer deflected onto his post, a superb curled effort that crashed against the bar and another attempt that hit the post after he was played through by Mbappe.
However, Bayern then went in front, as Choupo-Moting headed home after PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas deflected David Alaba’s shot into the path of the former PSG player, giving the German champions the lead on the night just five minutes before the break.
PSG went close again early in the second half, when Angel di Maria controlled Mbappe’s cross and sent the ball past a flying Neuer across the goal, only for Neymar’s stretch to come up just short as he tried to slide it home.
Mbappe thought that he had equalized in the 78th minute, after being played through by Neymar from just inside Bayern’s half, but the video assistant referee confirmed Italian referee Daniele Orsato’s decision to rule it out for offside.
Flick’s team repeatedly created danger in the penalty box in the closing stages, but the home defense held firm as PSG avenged last year’s 1-0 final defeat by Bayern.
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