Paris Saint-Germain advanced to the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday night on away goals, despite losing 1-0 against Bayern Munich with the permission of an Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting strike.
In a captivating first half, Neymar hit the crossbar and the post quickly one after the other. Bayern made the Brazilian pay for his waste when Choupo-Moting opened the scoring from close range shortly afterwards.
Neymar waved goodbye to Kingsley Coman before hitting the bar for PSG?
How has PSG still not scored ?! pic.twitter.com/mirTscUgK8
– Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) 13 April 2021
After the break, things calmed down, even though Neymar came within inches of pushing Angel Di Maria’s cross home early. Kylian Mbappe then got a goal ruled out for offside with ten minutes left to play.
In the final stage, Bayern turned the tide, but despite some almost failures, PSG narrowly managed to hold out for victory. They now face either Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals.
Here are your player ratings for both sides from Paris …
Dagba fought hard | FRANCK FIFE / Getty Images
Keylor Navas (GK) – 7/10 – Little he could do about the goal. Made a couple of great saves.Colin Dagba (RB) – 7/10 – Reached the top in his match against Kingsley Coman. Not much to report on in the future.
Danilo Pereira (CB) – 7/10 – Looked comfortable in his secondary position for the most part.
Presnel Kimpembe (CB) – 7/10 – His position was almost perfect all the time, as evidenced by his seven clearances.
Abdou Diallo (LB) – 5/10 – Caused a lot of problems for Sane before he was forced to pull off a hoard just before the hour mark.
Neymar was at the center of most PSG attacks | Matthias Hangst / Getty Images
Idrissa Gueye (CM) – 7/10 – A textbook ball winning midfielder display. He finished a team high six tackles and also used the ball well in possession.
Leandro Paredes (CM) – 6/10 – Showed fantastic tight control up close. Knit PSG’s progress together.
Neymar (AM) – 7/10 – A mixed screen. Sometimes he was completely unplayable, as evidence from the seven fouls Bayern committed, but his finish let him down.
Mbappe slipped behind Bayern defense Matthias Hangst / Getty Images
Angel Di Maria (RW) – 7/10 – So, so, so close to putting Neymar in a brilliant way just after the break. Was beautiful to watch all the time, showed off with some amazing flicks and tricks.
Kylian Mbappe (ST) – 6/10 – A constant threat to Bayern’s ambitious high line during the first half and so almost assisted Neymar.
Julian Draxler (LW) – 6/10 – The quietest of his team’s strikers. Rarely gave away the ball but did not look so dangerous.
Mitchel Bakker – 6/10 – But after getting on. His inexperience did not show.
Moise Cain – 5/10 – Had some chances to counter but could not convert.
Ander Herrera – N / A
Boateng sat down in the shop window with a solid screen | Matthias Hangst / Getty Images
Manuel Neuer (GK) – 7/10 – Made several important saves to keep his side in it. Swept up some long balls too.
Benjamin Pavard (RB) – 7/10 – Steady if unsensational. Do not give Draxler a sniff behind.
Jerome Boateng (CB) – 8/10 – Most people identified him as a weak link before kick-off. Although his lack of pace was sometimes delayed, he really wasn’t that bad. Finished with five tackles and near perfect long-pass accuracy.
Lucas Hernandez (CB) – 8/10 – He hit some amazing cross field balls from deep. Marshalled PSG’s strikers when they broke forward late.
Alphonso Davies (LB) – 6/10 – Drove his team forward with some rising runs but Di Maria caused him some problems. Started when Bayern was transformed with 20 minutes left.
Muller was always dangerous Matthias Hangst / Getty Images
David Alaba (CM) – 6/10 – It was not possible to convert a good chance during the first half, but fortunately Choupo-Moting was there for the return. His delivery could have been better.
Joshua Kimmich (CM) – 7/10 – Saw a lot of the ball and was always ambitious in possession. Did Die Roten cross all evening.
Thomas Muller (AM) – 7/10 – Very impressive. His positioning made him a nightmare to handle and he also gave some great chances to his teammates.
Choupo-Moting filled Lewandowski’s boots admirably | FRANCK FIFE / Getty Images
Leroy Sane (RW) – 7/10 – Missed two presentable chances during the first half but he always tried to make things happen.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (ST) – 7/10 – Rose high to open the scoring. Also held up the ball well. Replacing him seemed tough.
Kingsley Coman (LW) – 6/10 – Tried to dribble forward when he got the ball. Not quite as dangerous as Sane but had his moments.
Jamal Musiala – 5/10 – Could not get control of the ball for his only big chance.
Javi Martinez – N / A
