PSG Beat Atalanta To Reach Champions League Semi-Finals
Eric Choupo-Moting's goal three minutes into added time allowed them to beat Atalanta 2-1 in their Champions League quarterfinal in Lisbon on Wednesday.
Atalanta were on the brink of extending their remarkable run on into the last four after Mario Pasalic gave the Italians a 27th-minute lead in the first game of the 'Final Eight' at an empty Estadio da Luz.
But PSG were rescued as Marquinhos came forward to scramble in a last-minute equaliser and they did not even need extra time to complete the turnaround, with Kylian Mbappe setting up fellow substitute Choupo-Moting to win the tie right at the end.
"When I came on I said to myself, 'we can't lose, we can't go home like that'. The rest is history," said Choupo-Moting, who signed a two-month contract extension to stay at PSG for the 'Final Eight' after his deal expired in June.
The French champions' reward is a place in the semifinals of Europe's elite club competition for the first time since 1995.
They will play RB Leipzig or Atletico Madrid next Tuesday for a place in the final.
It is the first time PSG have gone beyond the last eight of the Champions League since the Qatari takeover of the club almost a decade ago and all the huge investment that has followed.
"Going home never crossed my mind," said Neymar. "From beginning to end, right from the warm-up, qualifying for the semifinals was all we thought about. I want to go to the final and nobody will stop me thinking about that."
The result is heartbreaking for Atalanta, who were hoping to continue their fairytale campaign for at least a few more days and give the people of Bergamo more reason to cheer.
The northern Italian city suffered terribly at the height of the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year. Bergamo's death toll from Covid-19 has made it one of the worst-hit regions anywhere during the health crisis.
"We came very close. It looked as it we could do it," said Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini.
This will still go down as a highly successful season for Gasperini's team, who scored eight goals over two legs to beat Valencia in the last 16 in March. (AFP)