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Tuesday 18 August 2020 22:06
The French champions are into their first Champions League final after a hugely impressive win and will now play either Bayern Munich or Lyon in Sunday’s showpiece
Paris Saint-Germain are into the Champions League final after a hugely impressive win over RB Leipzig tonight.
Goals from Marquinhos, Angel Di Maria and Juan Bernat were enough for the French champions to ease into Sunday’s showpiece where they will play either Bayern Munich or Lyon.
Here’s how it played out in Lisbon:
For Leipzig, it was one step too far. They deserve plenty of credit for getting to this stage, and it’s unlikely to be the last time they do well in the Champions League. Naglesmann, too, will likely have a big future in this competition.
The PSG players and coaches are delighted, understandably. Tuchel hobbles around on his crutches, a big smile on his face. This feels like a big moment for the club, even if there are no prizes for getting past the semi-final stage. Bayern, should they beat Lyon, will be the favourites, but this PSG team are capable of beating anyone.
90+1 min: Just the two minutes of added time. PSG, it’s now safe to say, will be in the Champions League final for the first time.
88 min: Neymar still can’t find the net. Verratti sets Sarabia away down the right and his cross picks out the Brazilian in the middle. He can’t connect with the bouncing ball, which bobbles onto his arm as he goes down under a challenge from Sabitzer.
82 min: Two last-ditch blocks, one from Silva and the other from Kehrer, deny Leipzig a goal back as the ball breaks free in the box.
81 min: Neymar tries to feed Mbappe with a clever outside-of-the-foot pass. Klostermann reads it, but hits the ball against the Frenchman and the deflection nearly deceives Gulasci.
80 min: Neymar lays the ball off for Di Maria from the free kick, and the Argentine curls the ball towards the far post. It’s parried by Gulasci, who has to pick himself back up in time to stop a ferocious drive from Paredes.
77 min: Mbappe and Neymar break away and find themselves in a two-on-two situation. The former’s pass is poor, though, and Neymar falls over in his attempt to control it.
76 min: Angelino lets fly from the edge of the box and Rico saves, slightly unconvincingly, though the swerve on the ball makes it difficult.
75 min: Upamecano has a go from distance but his shot is charged down. Kimpembe, moments later, makes an important sliding challenge in the box to deny Poulsen.
72 min: Another chance for Mbappe, who gets in behind and is denied by the right arm of Gulasci. The goalkeeper is then called into action again to hold a low shot from Paredes.
70 min: Close! Mbappe almost add his name to the scoresheet. Di Maria picks him out with an excellent curling cross, and the France international can only glance his header just wide.
69 min: Leipzig are certainly missing Timo Werner in attack. They’ve been pretty impotent when they’ve got into the final third tonight, and it’s been too comfortable for a confident PSG side.
65 min: Sabitzer collects the ball on the edge of the box and lashes a shot over.
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