Paris Saint-Germain weathered both a literal storm and a figurative one as the Ligue 1 side grabbed a 3-2 win over Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday.
A pair of goals by Kylian Mbappe bookended a Marquinhos strike as PSG escaped a driving Munich snowstorm with the victory. Despite dominating possession (64-36), shots (31-6) and shots on target (12-5), Bayern could only muster two goals (by Eric Choupo-Moting and Thomas Muller, respectively) in a match that the German giant sorely missed star striker Robert Lewandowski (injury) and attacker Serge Gnabry (COVID-19 protocols).
The visitors raced ahead to an early lead thanks to Mbappe, who put his side on the scoreboard in the third minute. Mbappe received a pass from Neymar before unleashing a shot that seemingly passed through Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and into the net.
PSG then doubled the lead 25 minutes later, and once again it was Neymar playing the role of provider. The Brazilian superstar crossed to countryman Marquinhos, who slipped the ball in behind Neuer and left the hosts reeling.
However, Bayern would narrow the gap in the 37th minute as Choupo-Moting latched onto a cross from Benjamin Pavard and headed home to give the hosts life heading into the halftime break.
Bayern kept the pressure on to start the second half, and had PSG pinned back for long stretches. Finally, at the hour mark, Muller nodded in a Joshua Kimmich free kick to give the home side the equalizer that felt like it had been coming forever.
Unfortunately for the German side, the PSG lead was restored through a moment of brilliance by Mbappe just eight minutes later. On the counterattack, the French international found himself one-on-one with Jerome Boateng at the top of the penalty area, and he faked as if he was going to shoot at the far post before slipping a quick shot through Boateng's legs and inside the near post.
That was it for the scoring as PSG remained resolute for the rest of the contest. The teams will reconvene next week in Paris for the second leg.
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