LONDON: Paris St Germain forward Kylian Mbappe scored twice to steer the visitors to a thrilling 3-2 victory over holders Bayern Munich in a topsy-turvy Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.

Mbappe was a constant threat while Neymar had two assists as the French champions responded to their 1-0 loss to Bayern in last year’s final by seizing the advantage going into the second leg in Paris next week.

On a snowy evening in Munich, PSG raced into a 2-0 lead after just 28 minutes behind closed doors at the Allianz Arena as Neymar created goals for Mbappe and Marquinhos.

Bayern, whose top scorer Robert Lewandowski is sidelined by a knee injury, drew level courtesy of headers by Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting in the 37th and Thomas Mueller on the hour.

However, Mbappe showed his class with his eighth goal of the competition in the 68th minute to seal the win.

“I think it was efficiency. We managed to score with almost all of our opportunities, and we managed to defend well as a team, even if it’s difficult against Bayern Munich,” Mbappe said. “But there’s a second round at home and we’ll have to win again if we want to qualify for the semi-finals.”

PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas played a key role with a string of saves as Bayern peppered his goal with 31 shots compared to the French club’s six.

We have to score a lot more goals,” said Mueller.“If it had ended 5-3 or 6-3 for us, no one could have complained based on the chances.”

It was Bayern’s first Champions League loss in more than two years and the first ever for coach Hansi Flick, who had been unbeaten in his previous 16 matches in Europe’s premier club competition.

“Unfortunately it wasn’t as decisive in front of goal as we normally are, said Flick. “The efficiency wasn’t good. But still I’m very satisfied with the performance of the team, the way they played.”

PSG had stunned the hosts in the third minute through Mbappe, whose powerful low drive squeezed through the legs of keeper Manuel Neuer.

The French champions were brutally efficient and scored with their second chance of the game when Neymar picked out Marquinhos with a pinpoint cross and the PSG captain beat Neuer in the 28th minute.

Marquinos went off injured immediately after scoring and the defender’s absence dealt a blow to Mauricio Pochettino’s back line before replacement Ander Herrera could settle in.

Bayern quickly took control of the game and came close through Mueller and Choupo-Moting, who was replacing Lewandowski.

Choupo-Moting had headed onto the crossbar in the second minute but did better with another header and Mueller brought the hosts level, nodding in a Joshua Kimmich free kick.

The 22-year-old Mbappe then scored again, drilling in from a tight angle and with two defenders in front of him to put PSG back in front.

“I am happy with the result and the attitude of the team, who found themselves in difficult situations against the best side in Europe,” PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino said. “We need to congratulate the players for their sacrifice and we want to repeat this kind of performance. Ninety more minutes to play. It is a good result but the return leg will be difficult. We know that.”

In Wednesday’s other quarter-final first leg, Chelsea beat Porto 2-0 in a game played in Seville, Spain, because of coronavirus restrictions on travel between Portugal and England.

Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell scored their first Champions League goals to give Chelsea a great chance of making it to the semi-finals for the first time in seven years.

Porto were the better side for large spells at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium but repeatedly lacked the precision to take advantage.

Mount scored after a nice turn past a defender at the edge of the area in the 32nd minute and Chilwell added the second following a blunder by Porto’s Jesus Corona in the 85th. The goals came off the only three attempts on target by Chelsea.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Mount said. “We know how hard they are to play against. We kept going and secured a good win, but thats only half the tie. The jobs not done, they’re going to fight next week and well have to give our all again.”

Next week’s second leg will also be played at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan. Porto were considered the home team on Wednesday.

After eliminating Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus in the round of 16, Porto entered the last eight looking to upset another top European team.

It was an even start in Seville but Porto appeared to be taking control before Chelsea opened the scoring with the team’s first attempt on goal. The 22-year-old Mount received a pass by Jorginho and swiveled away from a defender before entering the area and firing a low shot into the far corner to become Chelsea’s youngest scorer in a Champions League knockout game.

Moments after Christian Pulisic hit the woodwork from inside the area, Chilwell sealed the victory by taking advantage of a mistake by Corona shortly after the Porto player had moved to the back line. He let the ball slip away, allowing Chilwell to steam clear, round the goalkeeper and finish.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2021