It was asking too much for the second episode of this compelling battle to match the drama of the first in Paris last week, with the nine-goal epic between these two magnificent sides instantly etched into folklore as a Champions League classic as PSG emerged with a 5-4 lead.
Had Bayern not scored the final two goals in that compelling contest, the scale of their task in front of their home fans at a rocking Allianz Arena may have been forlorn, yet the tenth goal in this tie was always likely to be significant and it was PSG who scored it after just three minutes in Munich.
The dynamic Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was irresistible in the goal fest at the Parc des Princes and it didn’t take him long to torment the Bayern defence once again, as he burst down the left flank and squared to Ousmane Dembele, who powered a clinical finish past Manuel Neuer.
PSG had a two-goal buffer once again, but these two teams have the attacking firepower to ensure they are never out of a game.
Luis Diaz fired a warning to PSG with a shot that arrowed over the bar after 22 minutes, before the home fans screamed their dissent as the already booked Nuno Mendes handled the ball and was saved from being shown a red card by a foul against Bayern moments before.
PSG’s Ousmane Dembele celebrates his goal
Bayern’s sense of injustice moved to the next level when Vitinha rattled a clearance into the arm of team-mate Joao Neves, with the match official again adjudicating in favour of the visitors as penalty appeals were waved away.
The evergreen Neuer kept his side in the tie with a stunning save from Neves’ header after 34 minutes, with the game on a knife-edge.
Another compelling first half ended with Bayern continuing to knock on the PSG defensive door, with Jamal Musiala forcing a fine save from Matvey Safonov, before he fired a shot narrowly wide to draw gasps of despair from a home crowd hoping the next twist in this script would favour their team.
The only surprise as the first-half whistle sounded was that these two freescoring sides had produced just one goal in the opening 45 minutes, with Bayern’s Jonathan Tah missing a glorious chance to reduce the deficit when he flashed a header wide.
The nine efforts Bayern had on the PSG goal could and probably should have delivered a little more, but Luis Enrique’s side learned lessons from their failure to close out the tie when they held a 5-2 lead.
This time, Enrique’s side took their foot off the attacking pedal and refused to allow Bayern to break down their defensive shield.
The dangerous Diaz was identified as Bayern’s key man and PSG gave the former Liverpool winger special attention in a bid to dilute his influence, ensuring Harry Kane did not get the service he needed to thrive.
At the other end, PSG showed flashes of sublime brilliance in their breakaways, with Kvaratskhelia missing a big chance to finish off the tie when the goal was at his mercy ten minutes from time.
The despair echoing around this magnificent stadium was in evidence long before the final whistle sounded and while Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany will argue this tie could have been different if the first-half handball had given Kane a chance to fire his side back into the game from the penalty spot.
Kane was booked in the closing stages as he was again convinced his side should have been awarded a penalty, but referee Joao Pinheiro refused to give Bayern the route back into the game they craved.
When Kane finally scored his 55th goal of the season in the dying seconds with a brilliant finish, the home side dared to believe there could be a last twist in this compelling tie, but there was not enough time for Bayern to recover in this epic 11-goal semi-final.
So it will be PSG against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal in the Champions League final in Budapest on May 30, with the Gunners facing the ultimate challenge of dethroning the magnificent defending champions.
