Paris Saint-Germain delivered a late flurry of goals and held their nerve in a dramatic finish to beat Bayern Munich 2-0 and book their place in the Club World Cup semi-final.
The clash, played at a relentless tempo, saw both sides exchange attacking moves early on, with Bayern’s Michael Olise forcing a smart save from Gianluigi Donnarumma inside the opening six minutes. The Italian shot-stopper proved instrumental throughout, keeping the German side at bay with a series of outstanding saves.
PSG’s counter-attacks posed a continuous threat, particularly through Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the left, whose pace and creativity unsettled Bayern’s backline.
However, the first half failed to produce a goal, partly due to injury disruptions. Jamal Musiala and Josip Stanisic were both forced off, with Serge Gnabry and Sacha Boey coming on as replacements. Despite the stop-start nature of the half, Bayern came close through Harry Kane and Kingsley Coman, while Kvaratskhelia twice tested Manuel Neuer from sharp angles.
The game came alive in the final 20 minutes. PSG broke the deadlock in the 78th minute when João Neves slipped a pass to Désiré Doué, who fired a precise low shot into the bottom corner. The 19-year-old midfielder had been a constant menace and was finally rewarded for his efforts.
Tensions boiled over soon after. Willian Pacho was sent off two minutes later for a reckless tackle on Leon Goretzka, and PSG were reduced to 10 men. Bayern intensified their attacks, only for Lucas Hernandez to also see red after an off-the-ball altercation with Raphaël Guerreiro, leaving the French side with nine players.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, PSG remained resilient. In stoppage time, Ousmane Dembélé struck the bar after a blistering counter-attack, but seconds later, he made no mistake from close range after a cutback by Achraf Hakimi, sealing the result at 2-0.
A brief VAR scare for a possible Bayern penalty was waved off, allowing PSG to close out a hard-fought and memorable victory to reach the last four.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
Follow us on:
