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Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich delivered a football match for the ages on a record-breaking evening in Paris during their first-leg semifinal of the UEFA Champions League. PSG, the defending champions, eventually ran out 5-4 winners in a nine-goal thriller at the Parc des Princes, a match being hailed as one of the greatest football games of all time.

The UCL semifinal first leg pitted the most prolific goal-scoring European teams of the season against each other, and it took less than 20 minutes for the game to live up to the massive hype.

PSG vs Bayern UCL semis first leg: A game for the ages

Bayern and England striker Harry Kane’s 17th-minute penalty started the goal runs in the French capital before the hosts and holders showcased their class with two quickfire goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Joao Neves to go 2-1 up inside 35 minutes.

The breathtaking first half saw two more goals as Michael Olise drew the Bavarians level with a solo effort in the 41st minute, just minutes after hitting the post, before Ousmane Dembele’s stoppage-time spot-kick restored PSG’s lead to finish an end-to-end opening half.

The French giants came out all guns blazing in the second half and looked to run away with the first leg and the match with a pair of goals in two minutes through Kvaratskhelia and Dembele. But despite trailing 2-5 in the 58th, Bayern refused to surrender.

The Bundesliga 2025-26 champions hit back with two goals of their own in three minutes from Dayot Upamecano and Luis Diaz to set up a mouthwatering clash in the return leg in Munich on May 6.

A record-breaking night in Paris

The remarkable contest was the highest-scoring semifinal since Eintracht Frankfurt’s 6-3 win over Rangers in the 1959-60 European Cup.

It was also the first time in a major European semifinal that both teams had netted at least four goals, and the second time in a UCL knockout match after the 4-4 draw between Chelsea and Liverpool in the 2008-09 quarterfinal.

PSG and Bayern, the most attacking sides in Europe this season, have scored 43 and 42 goals respectively, meaning that for the first time in Champions League history, two teams have scored 40 times each.