Kylian Mbappe insisted Paris Saint-Germain still have it all to do after he scored twice in a thrilling 3-2 win at holders Bayern Munich in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg.
Bayern had their 19-match unbeaten run in the Champions League ended in a repeat of last year’s final, as the German giants suffered their first European defeat since March 2019.
PSG raced into a 2-0 lead after just 28 minutes behind closed doors at the Allianz Arena as Neymar created goals for Mbappe and Marquinhos.
Bayern, whose top scorer Robert Lewandowski is sidelined by a knee injury, drew level courtesy of headers by Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Thomas Mueller.
However, Mbappe showed his class with a superb second goal to give the visitors an advantage for the return leg in Paris.
“We used all our chances and had a bit of luck, but nothing has been decided,” Mbappe told Sky, with the second leg to come in Paris on Tuesday.
PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas played a key role with a string of saves as Bayern peppered his goal with 31 shots compared to the French club’s six.
“We have to score a lot more goals,” said Mueller. “If it had ended 5-3 or 6-3 for us, no one could have complained based on the chances.”Bayern coach Hansi Flick, who finished on the losing side for the first time in the Champions League, also rued the number of missed chances.
“With the chances we had, we could have got a good result despite conceding three goals,” Flick said.
“We don’t like to lose, but the way the team played was top.”
This was a record 19th appearance in the Champions League quarter-finals for Bayern, but there was little for them to celebrate at the final whistle.
“Kylian Mbappe made the difference. It’s a very positive result for us, but everything is still open,” said PSG coach Maurico Pochettino.
Chelsea punish Porto
A classy goal from Mason Mount on Wednesday helped Chelsea to a 2-0 first-leg win over Porto, whose wasteful finishing could have scuppered their hopes of springing another Champions League upset in the quarter-finals.
Mount’s slick turn and shot in the first half would have been painful enough for Porto, who were the better side for large spells in Seville but repeatedly lacked the precision to take advantage.
Instead, their misery was compounded by Ben Chilwell capitalising on a mistake at the back to score a late second that gave Chelsea another away goal and leaves them on the brink of the semi-finals.
They were away goals only in name given both these teams were playing in the unfamiliar Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, where they will meet again next week, just with the home and away roles reversed.
“There is a good atmosphere in the dressing room, we are happy but not too happy, excited but not too excited,” said Chelsea’s coach Thomas Tuchel. “We have to have a top mentality and a top performance next Tuesday.”
Mount’s goal makes him Chelsea’s youngest ever scorer in the Champions League at 22 years and 87 days old while Chilwell’s second meant the club boasted two English scorers in a Champions League game for the first time since 2012.
Chelsea, though, showed them what ruthlessness looked like when Jorginho fired a pass into Mount on the edge of the area inside the right channel. Mount took it on his back foot and twisted away from the sliding Zaidu, before firing a cool finish into the far corner.
Porto kept coming in the second half and kept missing too. Moussa Marega snuck in but his shot was saved by the feet of Mendy before Jesus Corona feathered Luis Diaz through but he took too long. Diaz curled wide after a good run by Wilson Manafa.
Chelsea absorbed them and then hit them with a final sucker-punch, Mateo Kovacic’s ball over the top miscontrolled by Corona, allowing Chilwell to steam clear, round the goalkeeper and finish.
Source : THE RISING NEPAL
