Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar was a live wire for his injured team but couldn’t find finish.
The good news for him and his side is that Bayern Munich was missing Robert Lewandowski, helping PSG secure revenge for the UEFA Champions League Final after a 1-0 second leg loss in Paris delivered safe passage into the semifinals on away goals following a 3-3 quarterfinal tie.
[ MORE: Pulisic Watch ]
Chelsea is also through after demanding plenty of Christian Pulisic and his Blues over 90 minutes, the lone goal a sensastional stoppage-time marker that ruined the “hosts” clean sheet in the tie.
So Thomas Tuchel and his former team are both onto the semifinals and the champs are gone.
Chelsea 0-1 (2-1 agg.) Porto
There wasn’t a lot to like here until an audacious stoppage-time goal from Mehdi Taremi gave Chelsea a shocking burst of life.
Taremi scored an electrifying overhead kick in the fourth minute of stoppage time off a Nanu cross, but the sublime was needed to breakdown Thomas Tuchel’s side.
Porto was all-too-cognizant of keeping Chelsea out of the goal rather than trying to blitz the Blues and win a high-scoring game by two or more.
But Chelsea refused to finish off the Portuguese visitors, the chances so rare and even those manufactured by Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic proved to be lacking the last moment of quality.
The good news for Pulisic and USMNT fans is that Tuchel clearly saw Pulisic as one of his responsible options in a match where attacking was unlikely to be in focus and creativity a must in those rare-arriving attacking moments.
Edouard Mendy was rarely troubled as Tuchel saved his subs for any surprising emergency or extra time.
There was a total of 16 shots -- 8 a-piece -- and only three went on target including Taremi’s special consolation goal, a possible Puskas Award nominee.
A little too late but Mehdi Taremi 😲
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 13, 2021
On his 🚲 pic.twitter.com/rCg99NMOMp
PSG 0-1 (3-3 agg.) Bayern Munich
The rematch of last season’s UEFA Champions League Final saw a similar match to the first, with trailing but dominant hosts seeking answers.
The difference is that PSG came away from the first leg with a 3-2 win despite Bayern’s dominance, and their two away goals meant they remained in control even after Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting put the finishing touches on a close-range, in-tight combo movement between Thomas Muller and David Alaba.
Neymar was a force of nature in the game, albeit a force without finish or assists after the second leg’s first hour saw him hit the post then cue up a teammate for another shot off the woodwork.
The Brazilian was influential and came close to a goal when Kylian Mbappe found him but Manuel Neuer found Neymar’s shot with a strong save.
CHUOPO-MOTING. BAYERN HAVE THE BREAKTHROUGH. 💥 pic.twitter.com/68iotuxEIj
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 13, 2021
