Four Talking Points From PSG’s Breathless Champions League Battle With Bayern Munich
A simply sensational nine-goal thriller unfolded at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday night, with defending cup holders Paris Saint-Germain edging out a 5–4 victory over Bayern Munich in the first leg of this Champions League semifinal.
If you took your eye off the action for one moment, you likely missed a goal—or two. By the time the final whistle sounded in Paris, the scoresheet looked more like a grocery list, with seven different goalscorers claiming a place in what was nothing short of an instant classic contest.
Both teams traded blows in the first half, with goals from Harry Kane and Michael Olise canceled out by finishes from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and João Neves. Ousmane Dembélé bagged the go ahead goal for Luis Enrique’s men from the penalty spot on the brink of halftime, and then the Frenchman and Kvaratskhelia extended PSG’s lead to 5–2 before the hour-mark.
Bayern would not go down quietly, though. Dayot Upamecano pulled his side within two before Luis Díaz made the scoreline 5–4 in the 68th minute. Suddenly, only one goal separates the two sides, leaving it all to play for in the second leg at the Allianz Arena next week, where the winner will advance to the Champions League final.
Here’s four talking points from the dizzying European clash.
New SI FC Newsletter Global Embed. Sign Up to Get Informed With SI FC. dark. FREE NEWSLETTER
Bayern’s Vulnerable Backline Folds Under Pressure ... Again
The alarm bells have been blaring for Bayern at the back all season long. In the second leg of the quarterfinals alone, the German giants conceded three goals to a Real Madrid team that has otherwise failed to score against the most inferior La Liga opponents over the last month.
The addition of Alphonso Davies, who made his first Champions League start all season, was supposed to patch up some of the team’s cracks in defense, but by the halftime whistle, the visitors had already conceded three goals—a number that easily could have been higher had Dembélé and Désiré Doué finished off a few glorious chances.
To make matters worse, each first-half goal had Kompany’s defense at the center of the crime. Kvaratskhelia completely torched Josip Stanišić to get PSG on the scoresheet, and then Neves, the smallest man on the pitch, was somehow allowed to head in his side’s second. Davies soon joined in on the action, committing the handball that awarded the hosts a penalty right before the interval.
Konrad Laimer replaced Davies at halftime, but it hardly brought stability to Kompany’s backline. By the 59th minute, Bayern had already conceded two more goals. PSG carved open the visitors on the counter attack for fun, leaving players in red chasing shadows, simply no match for the pace of Achraf Hakimi and Doué.
Bayern’s incredible goalscoring has previously bailed them out of poor defensive displays, and they did their best to do so again in Paris, but imagine how dominant this team would be if they didn’t need that type of production from their forwards to simply hang around in a tie.
The Game’s Youngest Stars Prove Age Is Just a Number
Of the 22 players on the pitch at the opening whistle, the three youngest—Doué, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Neves—belonged to PSG. Yet all three looked made for the moment, just as they had last year on the way to the club’s first-ever Champions League title.
Doué, still only 20 years old, snagged the assist on Kvaratskhelia’s first and Dembélé’s second, 21-year-old Neves found the back of the net and 20-year-old Zaïre-Emery, who kept a now-fit Fabián Ruiz on the bench until the 64th minute, hardly put a foot wrong.
For Bayern, young players in red also stepped up in big moments. Olise, at 24, was simply sensational, a threat to score every time he was on the ball, though he only finished off one of his chances, created by 21-year-old Aleksandar Pavlović.
Neutral viewers could sit back and watch the artists at work, with the incredible knowledge that they will have the opportunity to do so for at least another decade. The young stars are here to stay, and they have proven that no stage is too big. In fact, they bloom under the pressure and the bright lights, while some of the most experienced players on the pitch, like Manuel Neuer, wilted away.
Kane Has His Sights Set on the Ballon d’Or
Dembélé put in a performance worthy of his Ballon d’Or crown, but he also had a front row seat to the man who might take it off of him: Kane. The England international came into the semifinals as one of the favorites for the most prestigious individual award in the sport, and he only strengthened his campaign on Tuesday night.
As soon as Kane stepped up to the spot in the 17th minute, he was all but guaranteed to get on the scoresheet. No one is more automatic from 12 yards out than the striker, and another clinical penalty kick gave his side the early lead. He then was instrumental in his team’s valiant comeback effort, setting up Díaz’s goal with a brilliant lofted ball from deep.
Kane is in the middle of the best run of his career. The former Spurs star has found the back of the net in his last eight appearances across all competitions, and 13 times in 12 Champions League matches this season—the second most, behind only Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé.
The statistics only get more ridiculous when factoring in his production over the entire season; Kane has scored 54 goals in 46 appearances. Should Bayern wind up punching their ticket to the final and winning in Budapest, their captain is in pole position to win the Ballon d’Or ... and an impressive run with England this summer at the 2026 World Cup could make him all but a guarantee for it.
But the same could potentially be said about Dembélé should PSG win back-to-back Champions League titles, followed by France adding a third star above their crest this summer.
PSG Make Champions League History—And More Could Still Come
Although the Parisians will wish they never allowed Bayern to get back into the tie, they still have the advantage heading into the second leg all thanks to their dominant display up top, a common theme for Enrique’s men this season in Europe’s premier club competition.
The defending cup holders have now scored 43 goals in the Champions League, the most ever in a single season in the competition’s history. Even more impressive is that 22 have come in the knockout rounds alone.
Such an incredible goalscoring run could lead PSG to back-to-back Champions League titles, an accomplishment only ever achieved by Real Madrid, who won three in a row under Zinedine Zidane. In the wider history of the European Cup, the last successful defense not by Real Madrid was 36 years ago—AC Milan. Considered the hardest feat in club soccer, retaining their Champions League crown would thrust Enrique’s squad into the conversation of the greatest teams of all time.
Yet there is still another leg—and a potential final—to be played before PSG can start dreaming of more European glory.
READ THE LATEST CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FC
feed