PSG beats Bayern Munich 5-4 in record-setting Champions League semifinal first leg

By JEROME PUGMIREWednesday April 29, 2026

Paris Saint-Germain survived a Champions League semifinal unlike any other on Tuesday, racing to a three-goal cushion before hanging on for a breathtaking 5-4 victory over Bayern Munich in the highest-scoring semifinal in the competition’s history.

And the tie is far from over, with the second leg still to come next week.

PSG surged to a 5-2 lead early in the second half after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembélé each struck twice at Parc des Princes.

“We deserved to win, we deserved to lose, we deserved to draw,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said. “It was an exceptional match, I have never experienced a match of such intensity as a coach. I have never seen a rhythm like that, it was incredible, you have to congratulate all the players.”

Bayern, beaten early and seemingly overwhelmed, produced a fierce response.

Dayot Upamecano’s header from a Joshua Kimmich free kick midway through the second half revived the visitors, and Luis Díaz then drilled home to leave Bayern just one goal down heading into next Wednesday’s return in Munich.

“I think something special can happen at home, there will be 75,000 people, it will be a hell of an atmosphere,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said. “The Allianz Arena is a mythical area where Bayern has enjoyed much success.”

Rather than retreat into caution, Kompany said Bayern would take even bigger risks in the second leg.

“There is no middle ground,” he said. “We will give everything, everything, everything we have. We’re waiting for them, we want this.”

Kompany was suspended and watched from the stands, with assistant Aaron Danks directing the team from the touchline as Bayern lost for the first time in any competition since Jan. 24.

Harry Kane opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 17th minute, only for Kvaratskhelia to level soon after and midfielder João Neves — at 5-foot-7 — to put PSG in front with a header from a corner.

The first half remained chaotic. Michael Olise equalized for Bayern with a run into the area, before Swiss referee Sandro Schärer awarded PSG a penalty after a video review spotted a handball by Canada defender Alphonso Davies.

The decision was fiercely disputed by Bayern. Davies had turned his body away from Dembélé’s cross from the right, and the ball struck his hip before hitting his arm. He was facing away from the play, though his hands were not behind his back.

“The rules about handball change every week,” Kompany said. “The ball hits the body then the hand and you give a penalty, I don’t agree.”

Dembélé converted past Manuel Neuer — who guessed correctly — to send PSG into the break leading 3-2.

“Two great teams who attack and don’t question themselves,” Dembélé said. “It was an incredible match, but now we go to Munich to qualify. We won’t change our way of playing, and it will be two teams who attack.”

Bayern had started brightly.

Shortly after PSG defender Marquinhos was booked for halting Díaz, the winger won a penalty when he was fouled by Willian Pacho, and Kane made no mistake from the spot. It was his 13th goal of the competition, moving him two behind Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé, and his 54th in another prolific season.

Safonov made a strong save soon after from Olise, while Dembélé wasted a one-on-one chance.

PSG equalized in the 24th minute when Désiré Doué slipped a pass to Kvaratskhelia on the left, and the Georgia star cut inside before bending a shot into the bottom right corner for his 10th goal of the tournament.

Dembélé and Doué then missed additional first-half opportunities on counterattacks that repeatedly exposed Bayern’s dangerously high defensive line.

The warning went unheeded after the interval, and PSG punished Bayern twice more on the break.

Kvaratskhelia lashed in a fierce effort in the 56th minute after racing onto a ball across the box that beat every defender, and Bayern were undone again two minutes later. Doué found himself with too much space before teeing up Dembélé on the left, and the France forward finished low off the post to make it 5-2.

“You were standing on the field going ‘what’s going on here?’ because we definitely weren’t three goals worse,” Kimmich said. “It was important that we stayed relatively calm.”

PSG were under pressure at the finish, and Pacho cleared Kimmich’s looping header off the line in stoppage time.

“It was a very, very intense game,” Bayern defender Jonathan Tah told Prime Video. “We showed what sort of a team we are, that we can cope with adversity and also with difficult refereeing decisions.”

Luis Enrique said even watching was draining.

“I’m so tired, and I didn’t run a single kilometer,” he said. “So I don’t how the players are feeling.”

He expects no letup in Munich.

“I just asked my staff ‘ how many goals do you think we will need to win this match?’ They said ‘minimum three.’ Bayern Munich in their stadium are even stronger but we will try and show the same mentality.”

Spanish side Atletico Madrid hosts London club Arsenal on Wednesday in the other semifinal first leg. The final will be played in Budapest, Hungary on May 30.