FOOTBALL – 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 yesterday 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, NJ, on Wednesday with Real Madrid.
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.
An 83rd-minute Weverton own goal from a deflected Malo Gusto cross gave Chelsea a nervy 2-1 win over a spirited Palmeiras side in the Club World Cup quarter-finals at Lincoln Financial Field early yesterday.
Cole Palmer also got on the scoresheet in the first half for Chelsea, who move on to face more Brazilian opposition in Fluminense in New York on Tuesday with a place in the final on the line.
Palmeiras roared back after halftime with teenage winger Estevao, who is soon to join Chelsea, equalising in the 53rd minute with a stunning strike from a tight angle.
“Tough game as we expected,” said Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca. “First half, I think we were a little bit better compared to the second half, we controlled the game much better.
“But then they scored and the game changed but at the end we scored and I think we deserved to win. Congratulations to the players, because they have been very good.”
Chelsea started the match well despite missing key defensive midfield duo Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, with 21-year-old Andrey Santos making his first start some two and a half years after joining the club.
They controlled possession and repeatedly threatened through Pedro Neto, who caused chaos for Palmeiras defence down the right flank.
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