As both teams finished with 10 men in the Champions League on Tuesday, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain defeated Bayer Leverkusen 7-2 on their return from injury.
Dembele, who had made his first appearance since early September with a hamstring injury, made his debut just three minutes after being substituted for PSG’s sixth.
Willian Pacho, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes, and Vitinha also scored as the visitors played down the slack at Leverkusen’s BayArena while Desire Doue and Vitinha also netted.
“We are a team that always aspires to succeed,” said the coach. We want to win everything over once more this year, according to PSG coach Luis Enrique.
“We will have to work hard, but we still have confidence,” he said. This title needs to be reclaimed.
Illia Zabarnyi was sent off for PSG in the 37th minute for a second spot kick of the match, but Aleix Garcia scored both of the hosts’ goals.
Robert Andrich was also dismissed from Leverkusen after he had just slammed his elbow against Doue.
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Kasper Hjulmand, the coach for Leverkusen, claimed that his team “lost it in seven minutes before halftime.”
He continued, “We were level, but we wanted too much.” In that seven-minute period, we made too many errors and were too open.
We have the world’s best team at the moment. They are very strong.
PSG have struggled with injuries and inconsistent play this year, but once both teams were reduced to ten men, they won the game.
PSG’s attempt to compete for second place in Europe will face more difficult challenges than Leverkusen’s rebuilding team, which only had six starters who had just signed for the club in the summer.
The French champions displayed both their formidable wealth and the strength needed to overcome setbacks brought on by the breakthrough campaign from the previous year.
Dembele begins with a bench position.
The announcement that Dembele and Marquinhos were fit enough to travel to Germany boosted PSG’s preparation for the game.
The pair, who had a crucial role in PSG’s barnstorming treble last season, watched from the bench as PSG took the lead after just seven minutes.
For Pacho to head in from the far post, Mendes crosses over the Leverkusen defense.
With 25 minutes left, Alejandro Grimaldo hit the post with his spot kick, which earned Leverkusen a penalty for a Zabarnyi handball.
When Andrich’s needless foul on Doue on 33 minutes reduced Leverkusen to 10 men, the writing was on the wall.
However, shortly afterward, Zabarnyi’s performance went from bad to nightmare, with Garcia scoring from the spot and seeing red for clumsily downing Christian Kofane.
The French side reacted by scoring three goals in eight minutes to stun the hosts instead of reacting with a tighter red card.
To enter the break 4-1 up and cruising, Doue scored twice on either side of a Kvaratskhelia scorcher.
Five minutes into the second half, Mendes scored to give PSG a start.
PSG had the final word, despite Garcia’s 54-minute long, all-time Leverkusen triumph.
Dembele scored the winning goal from a close angle, and Vitinha finished the game with even more gloss, completing an incredible European night for the defending champions.
Source: Channels TV
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