Paris Saint-Germain survived a dramatic FIFA Club World Cup quarterfinal, holding off Bayern Munich to win 2-0 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta despite finishing the game with just nine players on the field.
PSG, the reigning UEFA Champions League winner, got late goals from Désiré Doué and Ousmane Dembélé to claim victory, even after defenders Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernández both received red cards. Bayern had the better of large chunks of the game, but saw two goals called back for offside calls, and most worryingly lost playmaker Jamal Musiala to a potentially major ankle injury in the first half.
PSG’s win sends Luis Enrique’s side through to the Club World Cup semifinals, where they’ll meet the winner of Saturday’s late game between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.
Here are highlights from the game, as well as minute-by-minute updates as a chaotic Club World Cup battle played out between PSG and Bayern:
PSG vs. Bayern Club World Cup highlights
Full time: PSG 2, Bayern 0
It was utterly unhinged in the final minutes, and the German side will walk off baffled at how it’s turned out this way, but nine-man Paris Saint-Germain has claimed a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich.
Désiré Doué’s 78th minute goal turned out to be the game-winner, but it also let loose a wild sequence of events. PSG had both Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernández sent off, yet scored a second with just nine men on the field. Ousmane Dembélé’s stoppage-time goal sealed the win, but there was still more drama as Bayern were given a penalty kick…only for it to be chalked off due to a VAR check.
However it happened, PSG is through to the semifinals, where they will face either Real Madrid or Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Bayern given, and then denied, penalty kick
Pure chaos in Atlanta.
Bayern hoofed a ball into the box that Gianluigi Donnarumma could only get fingertips to, and Thomas Müller leapt up to head the rebound towards goal. Nuno Mendes stuck his foot up high at the same time to attempt a clearance, and PSG had to block Müller’s effort on the line.
However, referee Anthony Taylor has called Mendes for a foul due to his high foot, giving a penalty.
And yet! Taylor gets a call from VAR, and after checking the monitor he has taken the call back. No penalty, and the game restarts with a drop ball.
Goal PSG! Dembélé puts this game to bed
PSG, who again are playing with just nine after two red cards, have somehow ended up scoring anyway.
It looked like their moment was going to pass, as Ousmane Dembélé’s thunderbolt slapped off the crossbar, but PSG ended up keeping the attack going. Bayern left too many men forward gambling in pursuit of an equalizer, and they’ve paid a high price. Achraf Hakimi collected the ball and fed Dembélé again, and this time the France striker had to just steer the ball over the line.
Red card: PSG down to nine as Hernández is off
Lucas Hernández has barely been on the field, but his day is already done after getting a red card in stoppage time.
A replay shows that his swinging elbow caught Raphaël Guerreiro in the chin, and referee Anthony Taylor almost immediately responded with a straight red card.
What a bizarre ending this is. Bayern is sizing up a free kick, and PSG has just nine players on to defend.
PSG vs. Bayern: Substitution round-up
Between the goal and the red card, we’ve seen a wave of substitutions from both teams. Here’s who came in, and who departed:
PSG
- Out: Désiré Doué, Fabián Ruiz, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
- In: Lucas Hernández, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Lucas Beraldo
Bayern
- Out: Aleksandar Pavlović, Kingsley Coman, Sacha Boey
- In: Leon Goretzka, Thomas Müller, Raphaël Guerreiro
Kane denied goal by offside flag
It’s non-stop here, but we need to give this update as Harry Kane is called offside just after nodding home a seeming 87th-minute equalizer.
Expect a dramatic finish given how wild this game has gotten since Doué’s goal.
Red card: PSG’s Pacho dismissed
PSG may have the lead, but they’re going to have to hang on for dear life here after center back Willian Pacho was given a red card in the 82nd minute.
Replays show Pacho catching Leon Goretzka with his studs, arriving late and raking down the Germany midfielder’s shin.
Goal PSG! Doué strikes in 78th minute
We have the breakthrough goal, and it’s Désiré Doué firing a left-footed effort past Manuel Neuer in the 78th minute.
The sequence started with a Bayern turnover, with João Neves running on past Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The Portugal midfielder produced a stunning turn to shed his defender, then passed back to Doué, who in turn cut inside before shooting quickly, picking out the bottom corner.
Both teams have made changes after the goal, we’ll get those straightened out momentarily.
Bookings both ways
Désiré Doué just picked up a yellow card after taking a dive near midfield, but seconds later referee Anthony Taylor was called over to the Bayern bench, apparently giving a booking to the German side’s head coach Vincent Kompany.
PSG vs. Bayern: Neuer error somehow doesn’t end in goal
Manuel Neuer came well out of his box only to turn the ball over, and somehow this 74th minute opening didn’t end in a goal.
It seemed impossible for Neuer to close the angle after sending a pass directly into Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, but the Germany No. 1 somehow dove in to prevent a shot with a sliding tackle, then put enough pressure on Ousmane Dembélé to force the forward to roll his shot from long range wide.
What a lucky escape from Bayern.
Bayern’s Laimer gets yellow card, PSG makes change
Bayern has received more bad news, with Konrad Laimer being the first player to receive a booking after a 68th-minute challenge on Désiré Doué. That will have a major impact if Bayern advances, as Laimer will be suspended due to yellow card accumulation.
Meanwhile, Ousmane Dembélé (PSG’s top scorer in the 2024-25 season) is coming on to replace Bradley Barcola in the 70th minute.
Neuer denies Barcola
Suddenly PSG has a breakaway after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia slipped in him behind Bayern’s defense, with Bradley Barcola looking sure to score.
However, the 22-year-old started to lean for his shot early, and Manuel Neuer read his intentions, springing to his left to get fingertips to Barcola’s shot.
Still 0-0, but that was easily PSG’s best look so far.
PSG vs. Bayern: Second half begins
We’re back underway in this Club World Cup quarterfinal, with Bayern bringing on Serge Gnabry for the injured Jamal Musiala.
No word on Musiala’s status just yet.
Halftime: PSG 0, Bayern 0
It’s been nearly all Bayern Munich, but PSG has held on to keep this game scoreless at the halftime break. Bayern has disrupted PSG with an intelligent pressing scheme, and the UEFA Champions League winners have only sporadically been able to feed their attackers while fending off an increasing tide of chances.
However, the big story at the moment is what seems like a severe injury for Jamal Musiala, who badly wrenched his ankle after a collision in essentially the final moment of the first half.
Musiala appears seriously hurt
A collision chasing the ball down inside the PSG box has ended with a very alarming injury for Jamal Musiala.
It’s bad enough that Gianluigi Donnarumma is nearly in tears, with several players putting their hands on their head after seeing the state of the Germany midfielder. Mercifully we’re only getting one look at it on replay, which revealed what looked like a severe ankle problem.
Bayern goal waved off for offside
PSG is barely going to stagger into halftime with a 0-0 scoreline at this point, as Dayot Upamecano seemingly headed Bayern into the lead.
However, as the center back celebrates with a knee slide, the bad news arrives: the offside flag is up, and on replay it’s Upamecano and about four other teammates going too soon.
Great refereeing in first-half stoppage time, but for PSG the alarm bells have been ringing for some time.
Big save from Donnarumma denies Bayern
Aleksandar Pavlović didn’t mean for that to be a dangerous shot, but Bayern had its closest brush yet with a goal. Pavlović’s 42nd-minute attempt to slip Jamal Musiala in for a close-range chance didn’t quite connect, but Musiala’s lunging attempt to touch the ball home was a huge distraction for Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Nevertheless, the Italian goalkeeper managed to spot that Musiala didn’t get a touch, then react with stunning quickness to slap the ball away on the line.
Kane narrowly misses for Bayern
Kingsley Coman hasn’t featured much so far against his former club, but he just roasted two defenders in the 38th minute before driving a cross in for Harry Kane.
This looked like it was going to end in an opening goal, but the England striker’s header from close range zipped over the crossbar. That’s a let-off for PSG, as Kane has made a career out of burying chances like that one.
Kvaratskhelia nearly forces a goal, Bayern substitution
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia cut inside of Konrad Laimer and charged straight at goal, suddenly turning some possession into a major chance. Manuel Neuer did a great job to get a hand out and stop the initial shot, then stuffed Kvaratskhelia on the rebound to keep this game scoreless.
Josip Stanišić has taken a seat, and it’s the same hamstring issue from before. Sacha Boey has been brought in to replace the Croatian in the 34th minute.
PSG vs. Bayern: Olise forces game’s first big save
Michael Olise has been a major factor for Bayern in these early stages, and the France winger was just denied by a good save from Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 27th minute.
Olise’s shot from a slight angle had plenty of power, but Donnarumma correctly read that this would be a shot rather than a cross, allowing him to dive out and tip the ball away.
At the other end, Désiré Doué is down in a bit of pain, but it looks more like he’s hoping to get a penalty kick over some modest contact in the box. That didn’t pan out, we’re still at 0-0.
End-to-end as teams exchange chances
PSG finally found a counter-attacking opportunity, but the angle was just too narrow for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who fired a shot from a yard off the endline into the outside netting.
Bayern took the resulting goal kick quickly and briefly looked to have caught PSG out, but the French side recovered well enough to prevent a shot.
Meanwhile, Josip Stanišić seems to have felt some tightness in his hamstring, and Bayern is already getting Sacha Boey ready. Stanišić has come back on after some treatment, but that’s a situation to watch given PSG’s attacking speed.
Bayern vs. PSG: Germans on the front foot
For the first time at the Club World Cup, PSG is under something resembling sustained pressure as Bayern has kept the game closer to Gianluigi Donnarumma’s net.
There haven’t been a lot of chances, but after nine minutes, PSG has had to do a substantial amount of defending deep in their own end. The Ligue 1 side has handled that comfortably, forcing Bayern wide, but that’s about all you can say for their performance so far.
How to watch PSG vs. Bayern Munich: TV channel, live stream
- TV channel: TNT
- Streaming: DAZN
Watch Club World Cup free on DAZN
What time is Bayern vs. PSG?
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Bayern Munich is scheduled to kick off at 12 p.m. ET.
Bayern Munich vs. PSG lineups today
PSG vs. Bayern Munich odds
Odds via BetMGM, as of 9:30 a.m. ET
Regular time result
- PSG +135
- Draw +260
- Bayern Munich +180
To advance
- PSG -135
- Bayern Munich +105
PSG can ‘take our revenge’ vs. Bayern
PSG can avenge a defeat that marked their lowest point this past season when they face Bayern Munich.
On Nov. 26, PSG suffered a 1-0 loss to Bayern that marked a third consecutive defeat in the UCL league chase and put their chances of progressing in danger. Kim Min-jae scored in the 38th minute and PSG star Ousmane Dembele was sent off for his second booking in the 56th in what was a dominant performance by the German side. But the Parisians rebounded to win their last three league phase games and advance, then stormed to the title while defeating Liverpool, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Inter Milan along the way.
Despite that eventual triumph, PSG forward Bradley Barcola admitted this week that the loss would still be on his team’s mind heading into Saturday’s rematch.
‘This could be a very good moment to take our revenge,’ Barcolo said in an interview with RMC Sport. ‘When we faced them earlier this season, we weren’t in a great moment. Now I think we can do much better in this game. Are we favorites? I don’t know, but when we play like this, I think we’re unstoppable.’
– Field Level Media
This post appeared first on USA TODAY
