MUNICH — Ousmane Dembélé scored early and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) eliminated Bayern Munich with a 1-1 draw to reach the Champions League final again on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila).
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia raced clear after playing a simple one-two with Fabián Ruiz in midfield, then picked out the unmarked Dembélé to sweep the ball in under the crossbar in the third minute of the semifinal second leg.
By the time Harry Kane equalized in stoppage time it was too late to keep alive Bayern’s dream of a Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League treble.
The draw gave PSG, the defending champion, a 6-5 win on aggregate after edging their encounter 5-4 in the first leg in Paris last week.
The French league leader will face Arsenal in the final in Budapest, Hungary, on May 30, after the Gunners defeated Atletico Madrid 1-0 on Tuesday to progress 2-1 on aggregate.
“It’s magnificent, two finals,” PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said. “Now we will go there and try to fetch a second star. I said to the players we are warriors.”
PSG’s defense — breached four times in Paris last week — kept Bayern’s much vaunted attack of Kane, Luis Díaz and Micheal Olise largely in check.
“We know how to suffer and we’re ready for what we have to face,” PSG midfielder João Neves said. “We’re very proud of how far we’ve come.”
By the time Kane let fly for his 55th goal across all competitions including the German Supercup for Bayern this season, PSG’s substitutes were already lining up to celebrate.
The England captain’s goal ensured Bayern has scored in every competitive match this season. Bayern coach Vincent Kompany struck an optimistic tone despite the disappointment.
“We made progress this season,” Kompany said. “We have to do it again.”
Real Madrid was the last team to achieve back-to-back titles — winning three in a row from 2016-18.
“Shoot us into the final,” the Bayern fans had urged their team with a huge choreography as the combatants emerged on the field.
Bayern only needed one goal to level the tie, but it soon turned to two after Fabián sent Kvaratskhelia on his way.
If the Georgia star was surprised by how much space he was offered by the absent defense, he didn’t stop to question it. Desiré Doué was another option queuing beside Dembélé to take a shot with Luis Díaz the closest Bayern player back.
Bayern’s players complained the already-booked Nuno Mendes should have been booked again when the ball hit his arm in the first half, but referee João Pinheiro blew instead for a handball from Konrad Laimer.
There were more protests shortly afterward when Vitinha struck teammate João Neves’ arm with the ball in the penalty area with a clearance.
Kompany played down the importance of the referee’s calls, though he also said more time should have been played in stoppage time.
While Bayern dominated possession, PSG was more efficient, with Doué and Kvaratskhelia keeping Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer alert after the break.
“PSG were killers with their five goals and how they scored (last week),” Neuer said. “That’s what we needed today. I think we were close to the final but couldn’t finish the job.”
PSG already had good memories of Munich. The city was the scene of PSG’s triumph in the final last season when it demolished Inter Milan 5-0 to fulfill its Qatari owners’ quest to become European champion for the first time. A relatively unchanged team is well-placed to deliver the second title. AP
THE WNBA is poised for a historic 30th season after a transformational new collective bargaining agreement was reached in March.
Now the league can focus on the play on the court which will feature the Las Vegas Aces looking for a fourth championship in five years, the return of Caitlin Clark after she missed most of last season with injuries, and the debut of expansion teams the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo.
The Aces have their core intact from last season’s title run, including four-time league MVP A’ja Wilson. She was picked by a national media panel as the preseason AP Player of the Year. She became the highest paid player in WNBA history, earning a $5 million supermax contract extension over the next three years.
Las Vegas has won three of the last four championships with New York taking home the crown in 2024.
The Liberty look poised to challenge the Aces again with their Big Three of Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu all returning. Ionescu will miss at least the first couple of weeks of the season with a foot injury she suffered in the preseason finale over the weekend.
The Liberty added All-Star Satou Sabally in free agency and made a coaching change after last season’s first-round exit in the playoffs. They replaced Sandy Brondello with former Golden State Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco. He’s one of five new head coaches in the league.
Brondello didn’t stay unemployed long as she is the head coach of the Tempo — the league’s first team outside of the United States.
Clark played in only 13 games last year after a series of injuries cut short her sophomore season. The Indiana Fever star spent the offseason getting healthy and stronger and is ready to go.
Here are a few other tidbits for the upcoming season:
Free agent movement
While 80 percent of the players were free agents this offseason with the expected payday of the new CBA, a handful changed teams with coming home a major reason why.
Nneka Ogwumike returned to Los Angeles, Skylar Diggins went to Chicago, putting her closer to her hometown of South Bend, Indiana. Sabally came to New York where she was born.
Sunset season
The Sun will play their final season in Connecticut as the franchise will move to Houston next year after the team was sold to Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta. Connecticut has said that it will honor its past players and coaches over the course of the season. This will end a 23-year run by the team in New England after moving to Connecticut from Orlando in 2003.
