A football match that produced five goals in the first half, four more in the second, and delivered the most exhilarating end-to-end action seen in recent years is being hailed as the greatest UEFA Champions League semifinal of all time.
Even before kickoff, the Paris Saint-Germain vs Bayern Munich semifinal on Tuesday was predicted to be a goalfest, but experts and fans have been left dumbfounded by the quality of football that bookended those nine goals.
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Football great Thierry Henry termed the game, which ended in a 5-4 win for PSG, “pure cinema” in his post-match analysis on CBS Sports.
“Rest in peace to anyone who missed this game,” the former France talisman said.
“This is football at its absolute peak. Pure cinema. End to end, no breaks, no breathing space… you blink and you miss something.”
It took in-form striker Harry Kane 17 minutes to open the scoring in the match as he converted a penalty for Bayern Munich against the titleholders, but the home side equalised seven minutes later, courtesy of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s one-on-one move against Josip Stanisic. The Bayern rightback was left dumbfounded as Kvaratskhelia pulled off a stunning curling shot inside the right post of the German team’s goal.
The scintillating action did not relent as both teams kept pushing for the lead, with Joao Neves heading in from a corner in the 33rd minute, to the delight of the home fans.
Bayern’s second goal, which made things even eight minutes later, was another one for the highlights reel as Michael Olise made up for an earlier missed opportunity to waltz through the PSG defence and thump the ball into the net.
Henry, who is counted as one of football’s all-time greats, said Olise was a “special” player.
“You watch Nuno Mendes [PSG leftback], who’s been locking up wingers all season, suddenly struggling with Michael Olise… That boy is special,” the former Arsenal stalwart said.
“On the other side, Luis Diaz just doesn’t stop running… I don’t think [Achraf] Hakimi caught his breath once. Then Kvara [Kvaratskhelia]… everything he touches looks dangerous.
“[Ousmane] Dembele playing free, doing whatever he wants… it’s ridiculous. And in the middle, Vitinha controlling everything like it’s his own playground.”
There was one more goal left in the first half, when Ballon d’Or winner Dembele converted from the spot to push his team back in front.
The action from the first half alone was enough to convince Bastian Schweinsteiger that he was witnessing the “best Champions League match in years”.
The former long-term Bayern player posted a selfie in the German club’s shirt as he awaited the second half.
‘This game had everything’
Eleven minutes into the second half, Kvaratskhelia was on the scoring sheet again as the Georgian forward found himself open in front of goal from a Hakimi pass and sent the ball flying into the net.
PSG’s lead was consolidated by Dembele two minutes later, as he bamboozled two Bayern defenders to squeeze the ball between them and into Manuel Neuer’s goal.
Former Manchester United defender said the game was the perfect display of one-on-one football, with four wingers running the opposing defenders ragged at either end of the pitch.
The visitors were able to pull two goals back, the first one from Dayot Upamecano off a free-kick header in the 65th minute, and Luis Diaz in the 68th, as the Colombian balanced a perfect long-range pass from Kane to slot in from close range.
While the last 25 minutes did not produce any more goals, both teams got close and enthralled those lucky enough to watch the action unfold in real time.
“This game had everything,” Henry said at the end of the match. “Honestly… this should’ve been the Champions League final. Because right now, these are the most exciting teams in Europe.”
‘We dream about matches like this’
Players and coaches from both teams agreed with Henry, with player of the match Dembele saying it was an “incredible match”.
“Two great teams that attack, who don’t question themselves – it’s the Champions League semifinal, we know Bayern are a great team, we are too,” he said after the match.
PSG head coach Luis Enrique was exhausted just watching it from the sidelines.
“I’m so tired, and I didn’t run a single kilometre,” he said. “So I don’t know how the players are feeling.”
The French team’s defender Marquinhos told Canal+ he was “living the dream” in the thriller.
“All football lovers, I’m sure they revelled in watching the match,” he said.
“On the pitch, it was a real pleasure to play in this match. We dream about matches like this all year long, throughout all our childhood… These are two teams with this mentality of never giving up, to always push, to always go forward.”
For Bayern’s leading goalscorer of the season, Kane, it was a match-up between two top-rated football teams.
“You saw two high-level teams in attacking play and transition,” Kane told Prime.
“We fought and we clawed and we’re back in the tie… We go to the Allianz with nothing to lose; we’re at our best when we’re intense and physical. It’ll be who takes their moments next week, with the crowd behind us, we hope that can push us over the line.”
The second leg of the semifinal will be played in Munich on Wednesday, when the team leading on aggregate score at the end of the match will qualify for the May 30 final in Hungary.
