UCL: Díaz double downs Les Parisiens as Bayern edge PSG

The Parc des Princes witnessed a bitter European evening on Tuesday as Paris Saint-Germain fell 2-1 to Bayern Munich, despite finishing the match with an extra man. A first-half brace from Luis Díaz set the tone for the visitors, while João Neves’s late goal proved too little, too late for Luis Enrique’s men.

Díaz decisive before the break

The game began in the worst possible fashion for Paris. After just four minutes, Luis Díaz opened the scoring, pouncing on a rebound after Lucas Chevalier had denied Serge Gnabry. The Colombian struck again on the half-hour mark, punishing a rare error from Marquinhos to double Bayern’s advantage. The Parisians struggled to find their rhythm, and to make matters worse, Ousmane Dembélé limped off injured midway through the first half.

Just before half-time, Díaz’s reckless challenge on Achraf Hakimi turned the tide. The winger was shown a straight red card following a VAR review, while Hakimi left the field in tears. Despite the numerical advantage, PSG went into the break two goals down and short on ideas.

Paris fight back, but Neuer stands tall

With Kang-in Lee and João Neves introduced, PSG dominated the second half and finally found a breakthrough in the 74th minute. Lee’s precise cross found Neves, who slid home to halve the deficit. The momentum was with Paris: Zaïre-Emery came close to equalising, and Vitinha tested Manuel Neuer, but the German goalkeeper stood firm.

THE STAT: 10 out of 10

Paris Saint-Germain have scored in their last 10 games in the UEFA Champions League, their longest run of games with a goal in the competition since a run of 10 games from 19th September 2023 to 16th April 2024.

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