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UCL Recap: PSG edge Bayern in dramatic semifinal first leg

After a breathless encounter at the Parc des Princes finished 5-4, it's advantage Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League after the semifinal first leg.
E. DEVIN
Published on 04/28/2026 at 21:00
3-minute read
Ousmane Dembélé scored a brace to help hand his team a narrow lead ahead of next week's second leg.

After a breathless encounter at the Parc des Princes finished 5-4, it's advantage Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League after the semifinal first leg. Catch up on the action with our match recap.

A lively atmosphere at the Parc

In a match played in a boiling atmosphere in Paris, Ligue 1 McDonald's leaders Paris Saint-Germain were ready to go toe-to-toe with Bayern Munich, looking to get a leg up in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal. After selectively rotating through a pair of Ligue 1 wins, manager Luis Enrique had his first-choice eleven ready to go, and with Warren Zaïre-Emery preferred in midfield to Fabián Ruiz. The visitors handed a surprise start to Alphonso Davies at left back, but otherwise opted for their own strong side. 

From the off, Bayern had more of the ball, but were unable to get close to Matvey Safonov's goal, merely delivering a few hopeful crosses. The visitors' threat would grow closer to fifteen minutes as Bayern won a succession of free kicks, and forced Safonov to tip away an inswinging corner from under his bar (14'). Bayern's efforts would finally tell, though, as Harry Kane converted a penalty given away by Willian Pacho (18') before Michael Olise nearly doubled the lead (20').

Four goals in twenty minutes

Undeterred, moments later, Ousmane Dembélé was through on goal, but the Frenchman shot badly wide, failing to even test Manuel Neuer. However, this was only a momentary letoff for the Bavarians, for as he has so many times this season in the Champions League, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia found the net (25'). Turning his marker inside out, he tidily found the bottom corner, scoring his ninth goal in the competition to level the score. 

Just past the half hour, continuing to grow into the game, PSG would take the lead, with João Neves netting a header at a corner, just edging past his marker to make it 2-1 (34'). Three minutes later, PSG nearly had a third, but Désiré Doué dragged an effort just wide on the counter, and the first half looked to end with the capital side a goal to the good, only for Olise to slice through the Parisian defence to level the match (42') just before the break.

There was a final twist in the half, however, as PSG had a penalty of their own for handball, which was converted by Dembélé to make it 3-2, bringing an end to a positively breathless half of football.

Advantage PSG

The second half started at a similarly lively fashion, and despite a call for a penalty after Kvaratskhelia went down in the box early doors, chances were somewhat slower in coming. That was, until, the Georgian struck again, rifling in a shot from a wide angle, after getting on to the end of Neves' cut back, making it 4-2 (57'). And less than two minutes later, it was another, with Dembélé getting a brace after combining well with Doué on the break (59').

Dayot Upamecano would pull a goal back just after the hour, before Luis Diaz added a fourth by springing the offside trap, the former Liverpool man echoing his brace at the Parc in the league phase. Bayern would push for an equalizer through set pieces in particular, but were unable to find a fifth goal, and despite having Senny Mayulu crack a shot off the upright (87') PSG will take this narrow lead to Bavaria next Wednesday.

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