TheCable

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on Tuesday night scored two first-half goals on the road to a 3-0 win over Germany’s RB Leipzig to qualify for this season’s UEFA Champions League (UCL) final, thanks to goals from Marquinhos, Angel Di Maria and Juan Bernat.

The Qatari-backed Parisians qualified for their first-ever UCL final since the club’s creation in 1970, and it is their first return to a European Cup final since winning the now-defunct Cup Winners’ Cup in 1996.

PSG, in their first European Cup semi-final in 24 years, defeated RB Leipzig, a club founded 11 years ago, with a dominant display orchestrated by their mesmerizing duo of Neymar Jr. and Kylian Mbappe.

RB Leipzig tweaked their usual four-man defence to three supported by two wing-backs in a tactical attempt to smother the brilliant duo but it failed as the over £340 million worth of talents were too much for the unusual RB Leipzig backline.

Marquinhos scored the first goal on 13 minutes. The defender met Di Maria’s corner kick with a flicked header that left RB Leipzig’s goalkeeper without a chance.

Julian Nagelsmann’s side had no response to PSG’s dominance, and were, once again, saved from Neymar’s brilliant attempt at goal that hit the bar.

Di Maria scored the second goal after Neymar’s superb back-heeled flick was collected by the Argentine winger and slotted into the bottom corner for a comfortable 2-0 lead going into the interval.

While Leipzig improved in the second period, PSG extinguished any hopes of a possible comeback with the third goal on 56 minutes. Juan Bernat, a defender, poked in Di Maria’s cross from close range to establish an unassailable 3-0 lead.

The win puts the Parisians on the cusp of a first UCL title since the Qatari investment rolled into the French capital in 2011.