Soccer
PSG-Bayern lives up to hype with goal-fest
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A classic was expected, and it was delivered.
Much of the pre-match chatter ahead of Tuesday's Champions League showdown between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich was about the quality of the teams involved, suggesting that this match could easily be the final despite only being the first leg of the penultimate round.
And in a pleasantly surprising turn of events, the game actually lived up to the hype.
Often when massive powerhouses collide on this big a stage, the match fails to deliver on the potential. Tuesday's outing was the opposite, as both PSG and Bayern committed to enthralling, attacking football that led to a 5-4 barnburner in favour of the Parisians.
This wasn't a sloppy display, either. Both sides simply put their foot on the gas and didn't let up for the entire 90 minutes, leading to the match of the tournament.
"You saw two high-level teams in attacking play and transition," Bayern striker Harry Kane told Prime Video. "Overall, we look at their goals, the penalty was harsh but we could have killed the game earlier on."
As Kane alluded to, momentum looked to be shifting away from Bayern just before halftime of Tuesday's match when Alphonso Davies was judged to have handled the ball inside his team's penalty area in a rather strict VAR-aided decision. Ousmane Dembele made no mistake on the ensuing spot-kick to give the hosts a 3-2 lead ahead of the break.
PSG came out of halftime with a zip in their step, and they scored two more times within 15 minutes of the start of the second frame. It seemed as though Bayern had let the match and the tie slip through their fingers, but rapid-fire goals from Dayot Upamecano and Luis Diaz in the 65th and 68th minutes, respectively, breathed life back into the visitors.
While there were no goals for the rest of the match, there was no shortage of drama as PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safonov came up with multiple big saves in the closing 15 minutes to preserve the win for his side.
However, this is just half-time between these teams, and with the scene shifting to Munich for next week's second leg there's no telling what else is in store.
"We go to the Allianz [Arena] with nothing to lose, we're at our best when we're intense and physical," Kane said.
"It'll be who takes their moments next week. With the crowd behind us, we hope that can push us over the line."
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