Atlanta, USA – Paris St-Germain advanced to the Club World Cup semi-finals after a fiery encounter against Bayern Munich, winning 2-0. The match was overshadowed by a serious-looking ankle injury to Bayern’s Jamal Musiala and saw two PSG players sent off.
Désiré Doué, who had previously scored twice in PSG’s Champions League final victory over Inter Milan, opened the scoring in the 78th minute with a low, left-footed strike into the corner. Despite late dismissals for Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernandez, Ousmane Dembélé sealed the win in injury time with a second goal, setting up a semi-final clash against either Real Madrid or Borussia Dortmund.
The first half, though goalless, concluded with a concerning incident involving Jamal Musiala. Making his first start of the tournament after recovering from an earlier injury, the Germany international was caught by PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma while pursuing Michael Olise’s loose pass. Musiala emerged clutching his left ankle, while a visibly distressed Donnarumma looked away as Bayern’s medical staff attended to the player.
Earlier, Bayern had a Dayot Upamecano header disallowed for offside, and in the second half, their goalkeeper Manuel Neuer produced an outstanding save to deny Bradley Barcola.
The match intensified after Doué’s goal. PSG defender Willian Pacho was dismissed four minutes later for a high lunge on Leon Goretzka. In added time, full-back Lucas Hernandez also received his marching orders for a challenge on Raphaël Guerreiro.
England captain Harry Kane also had an effort ruled out for offside for Bayern. Late in the game, a penalty initially awarded to Bayern after referee Anthony Taylor penalised Nuno Mendes for a high challenge on Thomas Müller was overturned by the video assistant referee (VAR) after Taylor reviewed the incident on his pitchside monitor.
The result also marked the final game for 35-year-old forward Thomas Müller with Bayern Munich, concluding a trophy-laden 17-year career with his boyhood club. He had entered the game as a substitute for Kingsley Coman with 10 minutes remaining.
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