Paris Saint-Germain edged Bayern Munich 1-0 in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup Quarterfinals in a testy game between the #1 and #2 ranked clubs in the world.
The match saw some exquisite play, with both sides displaying the quality that makes them perennial champions in domestic and international competitions. It also saw some ugly moments, from a horror injury to Bayern's Jamal Musiala at the end of the first half, to a straight red card shown to PSG's Willian Pacho in the 82nd minute, to an iffy red card given to PSG's Lucas Hernández in the 92nd minute, to VAR overturning a penalty call for Bayern deep in stoppage time.
But Paris is the deserving winner after Désiré Doué scored in the 78th minute — it was his first goal of the tournament, and his first return to the scoresheet after putting two past Inter Milan back in May in the UEFA Champions League Final. The win was iced in stoppage time by Ousmane Dembélé, who scored despite PSG being reduced to nine players.
But if Bayern had scored the game's first goal and gone on to win, you could say the same about them: Both teams came to play. Here are five thoughts about a Quarterfinal that felt like a title match.
Oliver Strand
1. Bayern was up to the occasion...
As Megha Gupta wrote in her game preview, Bayern had the upper hand going into the match. "Bayern won all four encounters against PSG in the past four years, the most recent coming during the Champions League league stages in November, where Bayern defeated the eventual champions 1-0," she wrote.
Bayern looked to be the better side through the first 70 minutes, putting together the more dangerous runs of play and testing the Paris defense. Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano thought he scored in first-half stoppage time, but it was ruled offside. That attempt was the culmination of a 10-minute spell of possession by Bayern that saw the Germans utterly dominate the ball. They were unlucky not to see anything come of it.
2. ...but Paris Saint-Germain deserves to advance
But it was PSG that found a way to score first and against the run of play, with Doué lashing in a low ball from just outside the box that threaded through four Bayern defenders and caught goalkeeper Manuel Neuer off guard.
Désiré Doué scores for PSG | Courtesy DAZN
It's a goal that could have been prevented a half-dozen different ways – with an interception, or better positioning, or closing down Doué, or Neuer remaining planted instead of shifting slightly to his right – but it wasn't, and Paris deserved to score and take the lead.
PSG's second goal mirrored the first. Once again, Paris scored against the run of play, this time with a shot taken from just inside the top of the box by Dembelé that beat Neuer by going to his left.
Ousmane Dembélé scores for PSG | Courtesy DAZN
But this was a Paris reduced to nine players after a reckless challenge by Pacho in the 82nd minute, and questionable call against Hernández ten minutes later. They had no business scoring an insurance goal against a full-strength Bayern. The fact that PSG did exactly that shows why they dominated in the UEFA Champions League Final, and why they're surely favorites to win the FIFA Club World Cup — if they can get through the Semifinal despite missing Hernández and Pacho.
3. A goalkeeping clinic — at first
The first 70 minutes of the game were a goalkeeping clinic, with the shot-stoppers for both sides making one extraordinary save after another. The first half ended scoreless thanks to the goalkeeping heroics of PSG's Gianluigi Donnarumma...
Gianluigi Donnarumma save | Courtesy DAZN
...and Bayern's Neuer.
Manuel Neuer save | Courtesy DAZN
But it was Donnarumma who ended the night with a clean sheet and Player of the Match honors, making five saves and 13 recoveries as he shut down Bayern's impressive attack.
Megha Gupta
4. The FIFA Club World Cup format is working
There's a lot to criticize in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, from how the teams were selected, to the decision to play the tournament in converted football stadiums, to scheduling midday games in the tropical heat of a Wet Hot American Summer. But one thing FIFA got right is the format: These single-elimination games raise the stakes in a way that the home-and-away matchups in the UEFA Champions League just can't.
This was a Quarterfinal that had the feel of a Final, with the high-pressure thrill of a game that counts for everything.
And to think we have one more Quarterfinal to play this afternoon.
5. The 2025/26 Bayern shirts are hard on the eyes
But they'll be retro-cool in 2050.
