At Parc des Princes on 28/4, Harry Kane's penalty gave Bayern an early lead, but PSG quickly responded. The defending champions came from behind to lead 2-1, then 3-2, before extending their advantage to 5-2 after just 58 minutes, thanks to braces from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Dembele, and a goal from Joao Neves.

However, after establishing a significant advantage, the home team slowed down, allowing Bayern to score two goals within 10 minutes through Dayot Upamecano and Luis Diaz.

Dembele celebrates during PSG's 5-4 victory over Bayern in the Champions League semi-final first leg at Parc des Princes on 28/4. _Photo: AFP_

After the match, Dembele, the 2025 Ballon d'Or winner, received the Man of the Match award from the UEFA Technical Committee. "This was a match between two teams with great attacking play, without hesitation, truly befitting a Champions League semi-final. But when the score was 5-2, we stopped playing a bit", he shared.

Dembele predicted that, being behind, Bayern would attack more aggressively in the return leg next week in Germany. However, he asserted that PSG would not change their attacking philosophy because of this. "The second leg will also be a great match", the French forward said.

Center-back Marquinhos also expressed excitement about the thrilling match. The PSG captain stated that even when making mistakes, the team maintained their attacking style. He believed Bayern shared the same competitive mindset, making the victory, despite the one-goal margin, a valuable achievement for PSG.

"This is the type of match you always dream of since childhood. We train for games like this", Marquinhos said.

Marquinhos received a yellow card in the 13th minute of the match. Concerned about receiving another card and being sent off, he admitted he did not play as aggressively for the remainder of the game. In the 68th minute, the Brazilian center-back was dribbled past by Luis Diaz, who then narrowed the deficit to 4-5.

"The referee was very strict. I had to restrain myself. Once you have a yellow card, defending against a player like Luis Diaz is very difficult", Marquinhos added.

This semi-final first leg served as PSG's response to their group stage match, also at Parc des Princes, where Bayern had won 2-1. The two teams will play the return leg at Allianz Arena on 6/5. The team that advances will proceed to the final to face the winner of the Arsenal - Atletico tie. Last year, PSG secured the championship by crushing Inter 5-0 in the final, which was also held at Allianz Arena.

Thanh Quy (according to AS)