Paris Saint-Germain are through to the FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals after beating Bayern Munich 2-0, ending a run of four straight losses against the German side.
The match, played in Atlanta, started slowly, with little attacking quality shown by either team. The first real chance came after 20 minutes, when PSG’s Désiré Doué set up Fabián Ruiz on the edge of the box, but Ruiz fired over the bar. Bayern responded with a strong shot from Michael Olise, but Gianluigi Donnarumma made a good save.
Soon after, PSG created the best chance of the first half. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia dribbled past the Bayern defence and shot low, but Manuel Neuer blocked the effort with his legs. Bayern thought they had scored just before half-time when Dayot Upamecano headed in a free-kick, but the goal was ruled out for offside. A late injury to Jamal Musiala also hurt Bayern’s momentum.
Early in the second half, Bradley Barcola broke through on goal, but Neuer saved again. Then, Neuer made a mistake far from his goal, giving the ball to Ousmane Dembélé, who missed with the net wide open.
PSG finally broke the deadlock with just over 10 minutes to go. Doué played a key part in the build-up and scored himself with a low shot that surprised Neuer at the near post.
However, PSG made things difficult for themselves. Just five minutes later, Willian Pacho was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Leon Goretzka. Bayern thought they had equalised through Harry Kane, but once again the goal was ruled out for offside.
PSG then went down to nine men when Lucas Hernández was shown a red card for elbowing Raphaël Guerreiro. Despite the pressure, PSG managed to score again through Dembélé in the final moments.
Bayern were given a penalty in stoppage time, but after checking the monitor, the referee overturned the decision. PSG held on for the win and secured their place in the semi-finals as they aim to add another trophy to their already successful season.
