Another thriller expected as PSG visits Bayern for right to face Arsenal in Champions League final

Munich's Lebbart Karl, left, and Michael Olise attend a training session in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, ahead of the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between FC Bayern and PSG. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

MUNICH — Another thriller is on the cards when Bayern Munich hosts Paris Saint-Germain for round two of their free-scoring Champions League semifinal.

PSG edged their encounter 5-4 in the first leg in Paris last week, giving the defending a champion a slim advantage going into Wednesday’s decisive second leg.

But Bayern is confident after fighting back from 5-2 down in that game and developing a habit of comebacks in its last three matches including two in the Bundesliga.

Bayern, which had already secured the league title, fought from three goals down to beat Mainz 4-3 before its trip to Paris, then twice came from behind to draw with Heidenheim 3-3 last weekend.

The winner will face Arsenal in the final in Budapest, Hungary, on May 30, after the Gunners defeated Atletico Madrid 1-0 on Tuesday to progress 2-1 on aggregate.

PSG and Bayern are the top-scoring sides in the competition with 43 and 42 goals, respectively. It’s the first time two teams have scored more than 40 in the same season.

The German club has won five of its last seven meetings with PSG in Munich, and is going for a repeat of the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup treble of titles that it won in 2020 and 2013.

But PSG has good memories of Munich. The city was the scene of PSG’s triumph in the final last season when it demolished Inter Milan 5-0 to fulfill its Qatari owners’ quest to become European champion for the first time. A relatively unchanged team has been charged with delivering the second title.