Paris Saint-Germain progressed to the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup following a tense 2-0 win over Bayern Munich in Atlanta, in a match marred by a serious injury to Jamal Musiala and two red cards for the French side.
The breakthrough came in the 78th minute when 20-year-old Désiré Doué fired a low left-footed strike into the bottom corner, beating Bayern’s veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Despite having two players—Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernandez—sent off late in the game, PSG held firm and added a second goal in stoppage time through Ousmane Dembélé to seal a hard-fought victory.
The French champions will now face Real Madrid in the semi-finals, after the Spanish side edged past Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in New Jersey.
The game’s first half was overshadowed by a disturbing incident involving Bayern midfielder Jamal Musiala.
Making his first start of the tournament after returning from injury, the 22-year-old was caught on the ankle by PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma while attempting to reach a loose pass from Michael Olise near the byline.
Musiala immediately clutched his left ankle and required medical attention before being taken to hospital, casting doubt over his availability for the remainder of the competition. A visibly shaken Donnarumma turned away as the Bayern medical team attended to the German international.
Earlier in the match, Bayern had a goal disallowed when Dayot Upamecano’s header was ruled offside.
Neuer was also called into action, producing a string of outstanding saves, including a critical one-on-one stop against Bradley Barcola early in the second half.
Donnarumma likewise delivered key saves, including a full-stretch dive to stop Aleksandar Pavlović’s cross from creeping in and a strong right-handed save to deny Olise.
Doué’s opener sparked a frantic conclusion to the match.
Four minutes after the goal, PSG were reduced to 10 men when Pacho was dismissed for a high challenge on Leon Goretzka.
Hernandez followed in injury time, shown a straight red card for an elbow on Raphael Guerreiro.
Bayern had another chance to equalise when Harry Kane found the net, only to see the goal chalked off for offside.
The drama continued when the video assistant referee overturned a late Bayern penalty initially awarded for a high challenge by Nuno Mendes on Thomas Müller.
Dembélé, who had earlier struck the crossbar, capitalised on a loose ball in injury time to fire in PSG’s second and confirm the result.
The loss marked the end of an era for Bayern legend Thomas Müller, who came on as a substitute for Kingsley Coman with 10 minutes remaining.
The 35-year-old, who has enjoyed a glittering 17-year career at the club, made his final appearance for the Bavarian giants.
PSG’s win broke a four-match losing streak against Bayern and marked the first goal they had scored against the German club since Kylian Mbappé’s effort in April 2021.
The French side has now won nine of their last 10 matches in all competitions and recorded six clean sheets in their last seven games.
PSG will next face Real Madrid at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Wednesday, 9 July at 20:00 BST.
Bayern Munich, meanwhile, will turn their attention to domestic duties, beginning their season with a German Supercup clash against Stuttgart on 16 August.