Paris Saint-Germain delivered an astonishing performance on the road, defeating Bayer Leverkusen 7-2 in a UEFA Champions League match that devolved into a nine-goal thriller and saw both teams finish with 10 men. This victory marks only the third time in their last 11 away UCL matches that Les Parisiens have triumphed against German opposition, and they did so with spectacular dominance. The visitors asserted their control of possession from the outset and quickly capitalized, opening the scoring just seven minutes into the match. After seeing his initial shot deflected for a corner, Nuno Mendes played the ball short before whipping in an exquisite cross that Willian Pacho headed in for his first-ever PSG goal.
Die Werkself attempted to fight back, with Claudio Echeverri causing problems and his tenacity forcing Ilya Zabarnyi into a handball, conceding a penalty. However, Alejandro Grimaldo smashed his spot-kick against the post, costing the hosts a chance to equalize. Leverkusen’s situation worsened when Robert Andrich was shown a straight red card for elbowing Desire Doue in the face. Yet, in a twist of fate just five minutes later, Zabarnyi received a red card himself for pulling down Christian Kofane, conceding a second penalty, which Aleix Garcia slotted into the bottom corner to level the scores at 1-1.
Undeterred by the parity, PSG immediately reestablished their lead three minutes later when Doue finished a lovely move, playing the ball out wide to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and getting it back before guiding his shot out of Mark Flekken’s reach. Another three minutes brought another PSG goal, with Kvaratskhelia having one shot blocked only to send the rebound crashing in off both posts. PSG still found time to score once more before the break, as a swift team move culminated in Doue creating space on the edge of the box and picking out the bottom corner, giving the visitors a commanding lead at the halftime whistle.
The onslaught continued just five minutes into the restart, with Vitinha slipping through Nuno Mendes for the left-back to beat Flekken despite the goalkeeper managing to get a hand to the shot. Garcia then momentarily provided respite for the reeling hosts, sending an outrageous strike into the top corner. This relief was fleeting, however, as Barcola selflessly set up the returning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele to score just three minutes into his return from injury. Vitinha then rounded off the evening with a superb strike from range, as PSG emphatically recorded a fifth consecutive Champions League victory, equaling their longest winning run in European football’s top competition. The result also inflicted Kasper Hjulmand’s first loss at Bayer Leverkusen, leaving Die Werkself with just two Champions League points and a severely bruised record.
