Nine goals. One semifinal. The highest-scoring match the Champions League has ever seen at this stage, and somehow the scoreline undersells the chaos.

Paris Saint-Germain beat Bayern Munich 5-4 on Tuesday night at the Parc des Princes — a result that required the title holders to blow a three-goal lead and still find a way to survive. If this were a script, no producer would greenlight it. Too ridiculous. Too many plot twists.

Harry Kane opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 17th minute, his 54th goal of a relentless season. By the time the referee blew for halftime, PSG led 3-2 — Khvicha Kvaratskhelia equalizing with a signature cut-inside finish and João Neves heading in from a corner. Michael Olise drove forward and smashed in an equalizer to make it 2-2, but Ousmane Dembélé converted a stoppage-time penalty after the ball struck Alphonso Davies’s arm.

Dembélé and Kvaratskhelia each scored again after the restart, making it 5-2 and seemingly ending the contest. Bayern had not read that part. Dayot Upamecano headed in a free-kick. Luis Díaz, who had already won the penalty for Kane’s opener, dribbled past Marquinhos and slotted home. 5-4. The Parc des Princes, which had been celebrating, went very quiet.

PSG nearly added a sixth — Senny Mayulu struck Manuel Neuer’s crossbar — but the night already belonged to anyone who watched it. Kvaratskhelia now has seven goals in seven knockout-stage games this campaign. Bayern took their season tally to 170, the kind of number that sounds like a typo.

“It shows the character of our team,” Kane told reporters. “I think we come away knowing we can hurt them.”

The return leg is next Wednesday at the Allianz Arena, with a place in the Budapest final on May 30 on the line. After this, predictions feel pointless.

Sources