PSG pull off shock rally to reach UCL semis

Soccer

A pair of late goals saw Paris Saint-Germain pull off a shock comeback to beat Atalanta 2-1 at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon on Wednesday night and advance to the semifinals of the Champions League.

Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
Champions and Europa League fixtures list

Mario Pasalic’s first-half goal for Atalanta was cancelled out by a late equaliser from Marquinhos before Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting popped up for a stoppage-time winter to end a dream run in the Champions League for the Serie A club.

PSG missed a golden chance to open the scoring inside five minutes, but Neymar shot well wide of goal after doing well to break in behind the Atalanta defence.

High-flying Atalanta, who led Serie A with 98 goals in 38 league games this campaign, took the lead in the 26th minute when Pasalic curled a first-time shot in from the right side of the area that left Keylor Navas no chance.

Neymar continued to find space in the attacking third and came close to levelling shortly after the Pasalic goal, but he blazed a shot just outside of the post and then blasted another over the goal right before half-time as Atalanta took the lead into the beak.

PSG found chances harder to come by in the second half and Thomas Tuchel brought on Kylian Mbappe on the hour mark. The France international started on the bench as he’d just returned from an injury sustained in the French Cup final win on July 24.

Mbappe’s first chance came in the 73rd minute after he charged into the Atalanta area only to see his near-post effort kicked away by goalkeeper Marco Sportiello.

Sportiello kept two more dangerous-looking Mbappe efforts out right around the 80-minute mark as the Ligue 1 champions looked to find a way back on level terms.

Disaster struck as Atalanta tried to see out the game as Marquinhos poked home a mishit shot from Neymar and Choupo-Moting redirected Mbappe’s square ball past Sportiello to secure a famous win for PSG.

Products You May Like

Articles You May Like

Bottom 10: Weary souls and burdened hearts at Washington and FSU
MLB most exciting player bracket: Who is baseball’s most electrifying star?
South Alabama blowout leads to voided bets
Gadecki reaches first WTA semi at Guadalajara
Poch: USMNT must aim to match women, win WC

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *