FC Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain engage in an epic exchange of blows in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. Despite all the spectacle, the FCB stars are having a hard time analyzing the wild game.
Nine goals – five in the first half. And not in a district league game, but in a Champions League semi-final. The first leg between FC Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain (4:5) kept all the promises made before the game.
Bayern spectacle even impresses the players
The game swung from one side to the other and back again so quickly that at times some spectators didn’t even dare to blink for fear of missing something. Even those on and off the pitch were impressed by the spectacle.
“I think it was to be expected that there would be an exchange of blows. It was not to be expected that it would be so open,” said Joshua Kimmich Prime Video shaking his head.
Enrique: “A fantastic game”
PSG coach Luis Enrique was more enthusiastic. “I’ve never seen such intensity and physical level. We have to congratulate everyone. We deserved to win, we deserved to draw and we deserved to lose today. It was a fantastic game,” enthused the Spaniard.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the disbelief at what they had just experienced, Bayern found it difficult to classify the defeat. As Enrique had analyzed, the defeat was not undeserved. On the other hand: Were you really worse than the home team?
Kimmich: Defeat “feels strange”
After the game, Kimmich summed up the thoughts of the FCB supporters. “It feels strange now after the game because of course we lost by one goal. Nevertheless, we were down by three goals, come back and still have to equalize somehow,” said the 31-year-old.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany saw it similarly. “Usually when you concede five goals away in a semi-final, it’s over,” admitted the Belgian, before going into the positive aspects of the game: “But we score four and can do two or three more in this game.”
Bayern averts a harsh slap
Ultimately, the Bayern stars didn’t seem dejected after the bankruptcy, but rather optimistic. After all, after the interim 5-2 win for Paris, it all looked like a bitter slap. And this despite the fact that both teams played on equal terms for long stretches and, similarly to Bayern’s quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid (4:3) had exchanged one impact hit after the other.
Kimmich: “We were definitely not three goals worse”
“You stood on the pitch for a bit and thought: ‘Wow, what’s going on here?’ Because we were three goals worse, there was no way we were worse,” reported Kimmich, referring to PSG’s double strike to make it 5-2 between the 56th and 58th minutes.
But instead of falling apart, the German record champions showed fighting spirit and fought back. First it was Dayot Upamecano who made minimal contact with Kimmich’s free-kick cross with his head.
Tah mourns Away goals rule
Three minutes later the goal came from Luis Diaz, who was almost offside after a perfect pass from Harry Kane and beat veteran Marquinhos one-on-one before scoring the goal in an ice-cold manner.
Now Bayern go into the second leg with a manageable mortgage, even if Jonathan Tah was a little mournful of the past days. “Well, if the away goals rule still existed,” the 30-year-old began, before interrupting himself: “In the end it’s 1-0. And we showed that we can score at least two goals. That’s why we’re going into this second leg with full confidence.”
Kompany heats up Bayern fans before the second leg
Kompany was also already looking ahead to next Wednesday, when the final ticket for May 30th in Budapest will be on home soil. The head coach was already heating up his own fans.
“I think the boys always give their all. The fans saw that today. The fans always give their all for us, but we need 75,000 fans who are just as excited as our away fans,” demanded Kompany. It’s hard to imagine that if the game goes like the first leg, he won’t get his wish.
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Source: BR24 Radio
April 29, 2026 – 3:55 a.m
