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April 8 (UPI) -- French soccer star Kylian Mbappe scored twice, including the game-winning goal, to lead Paris Saint-Germain to a 3-2 victory over defending champion Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal. Mbappe scored in the third and 68th minutes of the win Wednesday at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. PSG and Bayern play the second leg Tuesday in Paris to determine who moves on to the semifinals.
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"We played an excellent match, we suffered a lot, but we reacted as a team," Mbappe told reporters. "We tried to hurt them with our strengths and that worked."
The game was a rematch of the 2019-20 Champions League final, which Bayern won 1-0 on Aug. 23 in Lisbon, Portugal.
Brazilian center midfielder Neymar Jr. had two assists in Wednesday's victory. He set Mbappe up for first blood about 2:28 into the contest.
Neymar did a give-and-go pass sequence on the right flank with Argentine right wing Angel Di Maria at the start of that possession.
Neymar then took his dribble from right to left and darted toward the Bayern box. He then drew five Bayern defenders and slipped a pass to Mbappe on his right. Mbappe used his first touch to rip a grounded shot past Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer.
PSG center back Marquinhos doubled the lead in the 28th minute. Neymar sent a pass to Di Maria on the right side of the box during that exchange. Di Maria used his first touch to send a cross toward the far post, but the feed was deflected out by the Bayern defense.
Neymar then recovered the ball and chipped a pass back toward the far post, where he found Marquinhos. The PSG defender finished the play with a shot inside the right post for a 2-0 lead.
Bayern striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting cut the deficit in half with a goal in the 37th minute. Right back Benjamin Pavard sent in a pass from about 25 yards out during that play. He found Choupo-Moting, who headed a shot past PSG keeper Keylor Navas.
PSG had a 2-1 lead at halftime, but German forward Thomas Muller equalized for Bayern in the 60th minute. Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich set up that score with a free kick just outside the PSG box. He curled the pass toward the goal for Muller, who jumped and flicked a header inside the far post past Navas.
Mbappe showed off his world-class speed for the game-winning score.
Di Maria received a pass just past midfield on that play. He then used his first touch to send another pass toward the left corner flag. Mbappe ran onto the feed and dribbled by Bayern defenders.
He then stopped his dribble in the box and used a jab step to form space between several Bayern players. He used the window to send a right-footed shot into the near post.
"I think it was a really good game," PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino said. "I am so proud of my players as they were very, very good.
"We worked very hard to try to put in this type of performance against an excellent team and the reigning champions. Of course, big credit has to go to our players as they were really good."
PSG battles Strasbourg in France's Ligue 1 at 11 a.m. EDT Saturday in Strasbourg. Bayern hosts Union Berlin in Germany's Bundesliga at 9:30 a.m. EDT Saturday at Allianz Arena.
The second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal is at 3 p.m. EDT Tuesday in Paris.
"We are only at halftime [of the quarterfinal] and between the two, we have a very important league match," Mbappe said.
"They are a top side, there were no surprises there. We knew that we were coming up against a side that would make us suffer, but you need to get through that in order to win big matches. It's an excellent victory and a great lead."
