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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Barney Ronay at the Parc des Princes

PSG edge breathless 5-4 classic as Bayern Munich rally after Dembélé’s double

Ousmane Dembélé of Paris Saint-Germain celebrates scoring his team's fifth goal with teammates
Ousmane Dembélé celebrates scoring his team’s fifth goal with his PSG teammates but Bayern roared back to keep the tie alive. Photograph: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

Has there ever been a game of football quite like this? On a luminous, thrilling, slightly crazed night at the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich produced something that felt like a different category of human activity altogether.

There were nine goals in Paris, the most ever in a Champions League semi-final first leg. The end result was a largely arbitrary 5-4 lead for PSG going into next week’s return. Most remarkable was the nature of the spectacle itself, which felt like football of the demigods, a startling combination of unceasing fine point craft, and constant attacking thrust.

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