PSG ousts defender Bayern from CL
PARIS (Reuters) — Paris St. Germain reached the Champions League semifinals despite a 1-0 home defeat by holders Bayern Munich on Tuesday as they progressed on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate result in a thriller that was on a knife edge until the final whistle.
Bayern striker Eric Choupo-Moting scored the only goal before the interval but it was not enough to overturn the German side’s 3-2 loss in last week’s first leg.
Mauricio Pochettino’s PSG side, who struggled at times in Munich, had the clearest chances but lacked efficiency, with Neymar hitting the woodwork twice and Kylian Mbappe’s speed proving tough to handle but with no end product.
PSG kept their composure in a nerve-wrecking finale to book a lastfour spot against Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund, who play on Wednesday, as they aim to reach the final for the second year in a row in their third semifinal appearance.
Bayern eventually paid for the absence of injured talismanic striker Robert Lewandowski and forward Serge Gnabry, who had tested positive for COVID-19, while PSG managed to live without captain Marquinhos and influential midfielder Marco Verrati.
“Normally, my team has so much quality in the final third, but today they were lacking that final punch. We have to accept that, even though we would have liked a different outcome,” said Bayern coach Hansi Flick who added that he would decide on his future at the club at the end of the season
“Now we’re in the semifinals and we can dream big,” said Neymar.
Pochettino added: “We were very focused. It was a really tough match . I’m really happy because the players deserve big credit. To win and qualify for the semi-finals is an amazing moment for us.”
Chelsea reaches semis
SEVILLE, Spain (AP) — The cross from the right was curling away from goal at shoulder height when Mehdi Taremi took off, connecting with a spectacular scissor kick that sent the ball into the top corner from 12 meters out.
A beautiful goal — arguably the best in the Champions League this season — to settle an ugly match.
It wasn’t enough for Porto.
Chelsea qualified for the semifinals for the first time since 2014 despite a 1-0 loss to the Portuguese champions on Tuesday, the English team going through 2-1 on aggregate to meet either Real Madrid or Liverpool for a place in the final.
Aside from Taremi’s stunning, acrobatic effort in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time, Chelsea successfully stifled Porto in what proved to be something of an arm-wrestle and was happy to rely on the away goals scored by Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell in the first leg, which was also played in Seville because of coronavirus restrictions.
It wasn’t pretty but Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel didn’t care.
“I can imagine that both games were not the nicest games to watch on the television for spectators who look for entertainment,” Tuchel said. “I can totally accept that, but it’s very hard to play your best game against Porto.
“Part of a performance is not letting your opponent perform. This is what they do and this is what we do also. Today was the day to hang in.”
The niggly nature of the quarterfinal extended to the sidelines, with Tuchel and Sergio Conceicao exchanging words at the final whistle and the Porto coach showing his frustration by cutting short his postmatch news conference after questions about the confrontation.