After years of finding ways to get knocked out, French giants Paris Saint-Germain reached their first-ever Champions League final on Tuesday after thumping RB Leipzig 3-0 in the last four.
Nine years after Qatar Sports Investments bought a moribund mid-table Ligue 1 team and began turning them into the untouchable force in France, they are now one game away from winning the trophy that really matters to them.
PSG will face either Bayern Munich or Lyon in Sunday’s final in Lisbon thanks to goals from Marquinhos, Angel Di Maria and Juan Bernat.
Bayern take on PSG’s fellow French side Lyon on Wednesday.
For European newbies RB Leipzig, the semi-final proved to be one hurdle too much to surmount. A first-ever European semi-final was a step too far for Julian Nagelsmann’s young team, which featured seven outfield players aged between 21 and 24 in the starting line-up. With Timo Werner missing (having moved to Chelsea) they could not pose enough attacking threat against PSG, who were at times vulnerable defensively.
The night belonged to the rich attacking talent at PSG’s disposal with Di Maria, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe combining exquisitely on many occasions.
For Neymar, especially, the chance at European glory away from the shadows of Lionel Messi’s Barcelona is now ever closer after his world-record move to France.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to the first UCL semi-final of 2019-’20:
Brief score:
UCL semi-final 1 at Estadio da Luz:
RB Leipzig 0 Paris Saint-Germain 3 (Marquinhos 13, Di Maria 42, Bernat 56)
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