Paris Saint-Germain shut down Bayern Munich, reach CWC semis

Paris Saint-Germain’s Desire Doue scores the game’s opening goal during their Club World Cup quarterfinal match against Bayern Munich in Atlanta, July 5, 2025. (AP)
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Updated 05 July 2025
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Paris Saint-Germain shut down Bayern Munich, reach CWC semis

  • PSG played the closing minutes with just nine players after a pair of red cards
  • Bayern exits the tournament after being held scoreless for the first time

ATLANTA: Desire Doué scored in the 78th minute, Ousmane Dembele added a second in stoppage time and Paris Saint-Germain sealed their place in the FIFA Club World Cup semifinals with a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Bayern Munich on Saturday in Atlanta.

Pairs Saint-Germain played the closing minutes with just nine players after a pair of red cards and still added a goal to seal the victory.

Referee Anthony Taylor dismissed Willian Pacho in the 82nd minute for his dangerous challenge on Bayern’s Thomas Muller, and sent off Lucas Hernandez in the second minute of second-half stoppage time for an elbow in the direction of Raphael Guerreiro.

But Doue and Dembele’s first goals of the tournament were enough to seal a meeting in East Rutherford, N.J., on Wednesday with the winner of Saturday’s second semifinal between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.

Gianluigi Donnarumma made five saves to keep PSG’s fourth clean sheet of the tournament.

Bayern exits the tournament after being held scoreless for the first time, on a day when they lost Josip Stanisic and Jamal Musiala to first-half injuries.

It was still 11-on-11 when Doue took Joao Neves’ pass, created some space near the edge of the penalty area, then unleashed a left-footed strike that found the bottom right corner as Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer slipped while trying to change direction.

Dembele doubled the advantage on a stunning foray forward despite the numerical disadvantage and some brilliant setup work by Achraf Hakimi, who beat three defenders off the dribble.

Hakimi then fed Dembele in stride for a first-time low finish that left Neuer little chance.

Bayern thought they had a chance to pull a late goal back when Taylor whistled for a penalty even later in stoppage time, only to reverse his decision following a video review.

Musiala departed on a stretcher at halftime after suffering a gruesome ankle injury following a tangle for the ball with Donnarumma that did not show any signs of ill intent.

Even Donnaruma was distraught after seeing the extent of Musiala’s injury, which came in the final seconds of the first half.

Twelve minutes earlier, Stanisic exited with an apparent hamstring injury.

Donnaruma made a pair of exceptional first-half saves.

In the 27th minute, he sprung to his right to parry Michael Olize’s goal-bound effort from just beyond the corner of the 6-yard box. In the 41st, he sprawled the opposite direction to keep Aleksandar Pavlovic’s effort — an intended early cross that was inches in front of Musiala near the penalty spot — from bounding inside the right post.

Neuer was also called into action during the first half, thwarting Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s effort from close range at the near post with an outstretched arm in the 32nd minute.

Four minutes into the second half, he dove left to deny Bradley Barcola on the break.


Pepper, Narine lead Abu Dhabi Knight Riders to ILT20 Qualifier 2 with win over Dubai Capitals

Updated 11 sec ago
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Pepper, Narine lead Abu Dhabi Knight Riders to ILT20 Qualifier 2 with win over Dubai Capitals

  • The win sets up a Qualifier 2 clash with MI Emirates on Friday, with a place in Sunday’s final against Desert Vipers at stake

DUBAI: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders moved one win away from the International League T20 final after sealing a commanding 50-run victory over Dubai Capitals in the Eliminator at Dubai International Stadium on Thursday.

An impressive 122-run opening partnership between Michael Pepper and Phil Salt laid the foundation for the Knight Riders, before a disciplined bowling display, led by Sunil Narine, Jason Holder and Liam Livingstone, dismantled the Capitals’ chase.

The win sets up a Qualifier 2 clash with MI Emirates on Friday, with a place in Sunday’s final against Desert Vipers at stake.

Pepper continued his fine form with a fluent 72 off 49 deliveries, striking seven fours and three sixes, while Salt contributed 43 off 34 as the Knight Riders surged to 122 without loss.

Although the Capitals fought back strongly with the ball to restrict Abu Dhabi to 158/7, a late cameo from Holder (22 off 11) ensured a competitive total.

In reply, the Capitals never recovered from a bruising start as Abu Dhabi’s bowlers applied relentless pressure.

Holder struck early, Narine dominated through the powerplay and middle overs, and Livingstone delivered key blows as the Capitals were bundled out for 108. Narine, Holder and Livingstone finished with three wickets apiece.

Player of the match Narine said: “Winning games changes everything, it means a lot. We haven’t made the playoffs in three years, and that’s something we’ve been pushing hard for. It’s emotional because we’ve played good cricket before without getting the results.”

Dubai Capitals captain Mohammad Nabi was philosophical in defeat.

“At one point it looked like they might get close to 200, but we did well to pull things back with the ball. With the bat, though, we weren’t good enough as a unit,” he said.

“There wasn’t excessive turn, but they bowled very well to their areas. The plan was to rotate strike and avoid early wickets, but it didn’t come off.”