Unlucky Neymar relieved as Paris squeeze past Bayern

A pulsating match at Parc des Princes saw Paris beat Bayern on away goals in a match that had everything.

Neymar was left wondering what is it that he has to do to score on the night. He hit the woodwork no less than three times in a frantic 5-minute spell where Paris looked like extending their first-leg advantage over a Lewandowski-less Bayern.

But Bayern did what they’ve done many times in their history. They held on to withstand a heavy barrage of Parisian big guns and went on to score at the other end as the home players stood and looked in dismay.

The aggregates score at halftime read 3-3, but it was the French champions who were going through should the scoreline on the night remain unchanged. That’s why the Bavarians needed another goal to overturn the tie, and they did their best to put Keylor Navas under more pressure as Paris struggled to find their best form.

Kylian Mbappe hammered the ball into the roof of Manuel Neuer’s net after a swift Paris counter-attack and wheeled off in celebration only to see the linesman’s flag up, signalling offside. Substitute Moise Kean was released down the left, and he squared for Angel Di Maria on the opposite flank. The Argentine cut in and switched the ball onto his left foot but was frustrated to see his shot blocked.

Bayern threw everything they possibly could at their hosts but their fatigue showed when they needed freshness and calmness the most. Thomas Miller, Leroy Sane and Kingsley Coman all tried to find that priceless goal that would mean qualification to the last four but some poor touches proved to be Bayern’s undoing.

Lucas Hernandez produced an all-around performance for the German team as he galloped up and down the pitch chasing Paris’ speedy forwards and making some crucial challenges along the way. It was one of those matches where neither team deserved to be eliminated but this time it was the reigning Champions League champions who had to bow out.

On the other hand, Paris Saint-Germain will be delighted that they banished demons from last season’s final in which they lost to Bayern. They did not score on the night, the margin could not have been narrower, but Mauricio Pochettino and his players celebrated wildly as Italian referee Orsato blew the final whistle.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Quarterfinals, second leg

Tuesday

Chelsea - Porto 0-1 (0-0) /First match 2-0/

/Taremi 90+4/

Chelsea win 2-1 on aggregate.

Paris Saint Germain - Bayern Munich 0-1 (0-1) /First match 3-2/

/Choupo-Moting 40/

Paris Saint-Germain win on away goals.

Wednesday

22.00: Borussia Dortmund - Manchester City /First match 1-2/

22.00: Liverpool - Real Madrid /First match 1-3/