Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich delivered one of the most dramatic matches in UEFA Champions League history on Tuesday, producing a nine-goal epic in the first leg of their 2025 semi-final encounter that will go down as an instant classic of the competition. The 5-4 victory for PSG at a packed Parc des Princes stands as the highest-scoring semi-final match in the history of the tournament, with two of European football’s current heavyweights showcasing relentless attacking quality from the first whistle to the last.
The first half alone delivered enough drama to fill an entire fixture, with Bayern Munich drawing first blood in the 17th minute. After PSG defender Willian Pacho brought down Bayern winger Luis Diaz inside the box, England captain Harry Kane stepped up to convert the penalty, notching his 54th goal of an already historic individual season. The German champions, who had beaten PSG 2-1 in the Champions League league phase back in November via a Diaz brace, looked the more dangerous side in the opening exchanges, but their aggressive, front-footed attacking approach left gaps at the back that PSG were quick to exploit on the counter.
Just after the 30-minute mark, Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – widely regarded as the standout player of this season’s Champions League – broke the deadlock for the hosts. He outpaced Josip Stanisic down the left flank, cut inside the recovering defender, and fired a precision shot into the far corner to level the score at 1-1. Three minutes later, Joao Neves nodded home a well-placed Ousmane Dembele corner to put PSG 2-1 ahead, sending the packed home crowd into a frenzy.
The end-to-end action showed no signs of slowing, however. Bayern’s Michael Olise drove into the PSG penalty area and smashed a powerful effort past the goalkeeper to restore parity at 2-2, marking his 20th goal of the 2024-2025 campaign. In first-half stoppage time, PSG were awarded a penalty after a cross from Dembele struck the arm of Alphonso Davies, who was making his first Champions League start of the season following a long-term injury layoff. After a lengthy VAR check, Swiss referee confirmed the decision, and Dembele converted to put PSG 3-2 up going into the halftime break.
Two minutes into the second half, PSG extended their lead further. Achraf Hakimi delivered a pinpoint low cross into the path of Kvaratskhelia, who slotted home his second of the night to make it 4-2 – his seventh goal in seven knockout stage games this campaign, further cementing his reputation as PSG’s biggest match-winner this season. Before Bayern could reorganize, Dembele caught Manuel Neuer off guard with a low shot that bounced into the net off the near post, putting the French champions 5-2 up and seemingly out of reach with just over half an hour remaining.
Yet Vincent Kompany’s Bayern side refused to fold, even with their manager watching from the stands due to a suspension. The German champions pulled one back through Dayot Upamecano, who headed home a Joshua Kimmich free kick to cut the deficit to 5-3, taking Bayern’s total goal tally for the season to 170. Minutes later, Diaz latched onto a long through ball, dribbled past PSG captain Marquinhos, and slotted the ball past the goalkeeper to make the score 5-4, setting up a nervy final 15 minutes for the hosts. PSG came close to extending their lead late on when Senny Mayulu’s strike hit the crossbar with Neuer beaten, leaving the final scoreline locked at 5-4.
The result leaves Luis Enrique’s PSG holding a narrow one-goal advantage heading into the return leg next Wednesday at Bayern’s Allianz Arena, with a place in the May 30 Champions League final in Budapest up for grabs. PSG are chasing history as they aim to become only the second club in the modern Champions League era to retain the trophy, having lifted the title in 2024 with a 5-0 win over Inter Munich in Munich’s final venue. For Bayern, who lifted their sixth Champions League trophy in 2020 with a final win over PSG, the club is aiming to reach its first final since that 2020 triumph, and will be confident of turning around the deficit in front of their home fans. Widely praised as already surpassing last season’s iconic semi-final between Inter Milan and Barcelona, the nine-goal thriller has left the tie perfectly poised for another dramatic encounter in Munich next week.