Paris-Saint-Germain clinched the thriller at Lisbon to escape Atalanta in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, becoming the first team to book their spot in Champions League semi-finals. A terrific stoppage-time comeback tale of PSG stunned football fans on Wednesday night. It was the first semi-final berth for the French Champions since 1995.
Courtesy of goals from Marquinhos and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting broke the hearts of Seria A club with a bearest margin. The Italians were on a route to upset French Champions as they went ahead in the 26th minute through a superb strike from Mario Pasalic.
PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas made important saves to tip away Hans Hateboer's header in the first half. Atalanta was remarkable in the first half, Hateboer and captain Gomez made an opportunity for the Italian outfit.
The pressure was on PSG until the equalizer didn’t appear and they were losing the grip to trouble Marco Sportiello in the Atalanta goal. Atalanta's backline was strong to tackle Neymar who netted most goals in recent times at the knock out stages.
Mbappe's introduction in 2nd half created a twist in the game but it was Sarabia and Icardi who were looking for the opportunity to crack Serie A club’s defense. Neymar continued to put pressure but the time was ticking down and the frustration was all over the French Club. Icardi replaced by Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, and Palomino did a goal-saving tackle to block Mbappe's one-on-one effort.
When the game was going towards the 90-minute mark, Atlanta was prepared for the pair of Neymar and Mbappe and this combination provided assists for Marquinhos and Choupo-Moting to make PSG’s first Champions League semifinal appearance after 1995. PSG will now either face RB Leipzig or Atletico Madrid who will meet in the next quarterfinal on Thursday night.
