Choupo-Moting fires Bayern past PSG into Champions League quarterfinals

MUNICH: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s goal lifted Bayern Munich past Paris Saint-Germain and into the quarterfinals of the Champions League on Wednesday.

After former PSG forward Kingsley Coman scored in the first leg, Choupo-Moting — another former PSG player — extended Bayern’s lead in the second leg in a 2-0 victory Wednesday to complete a 3-0 win on aggregate in the Champions League round of 16.

Shortly after having a goal ruled out for offside, and also inadvertently blocking a teammate’s shot, Choupo-Moting scored in the 61st minute to put Bayern on course for the quarterfinals and send Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and PSG heading toward their earliest Champions League exit since 2018-19.

Leon Goretzka and Thomas Müller teamed up to take the ball off Marco Verratti and Goretzka squared the ball for Choupo-Moting to apply a simple finish with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma stranded.

Two substitutes then linked up to make sure of the win on the counter in the 89th, with Joao Cancelo surging down the right flank before playing in Serge Gnabry to score.

PSG had dominated the first half of the game and was only denied the lead by a goal-line clearance from Bayern’s Matthijs de Ligt, but Bayern regained their focus in the second half to secure the win.

Games between PSG and Bayern have helped define the career of Choupo-Moting, a late-developing 33-year-old forward who until this season was best known as a backup striker for Robert Lewandowski at Bayern.

Choupo-Moting played for PSG against Bayern when the German team won the Champions League final in 2020. After signing for Bayern as a free agent the following season, he scored once in each leg in a defeat on away goals to PSG in the Champions League quarterfinals.