Ousmane Dembélé scored on his return from injury as defending champions Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 7-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday, with both teams finishing with 10 men.
Ballon
d’Or winner Dembélé scored PSG’s sixth just three minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute in his first appearance since suffering a hamstring injury in early September.
Desire Doue bagged a brace while Willian Pacho, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes, and Vitinha also found the net at Leverkusen’s BayArena, as the visitors laid down the gauntlet to their European rivals.
The first goal of the match by Pacho helped PSG break Manchester United’s all-time record of scoring most goals in a calendar year in Champions League. Pacho scored PSG’s 39th Champions League goal in 2025. No other team has found the back of the net as many times in a single calendar year.
The record was previously held by Manchester United, with 38 goals in 2002.
Goals from Kvicha Kvaratshkelia, Désiré Doué (brace), Vitinha, Ousmane Dembélé, and Nuno allowed PSG to widen the gap and fully claim this record with 45 goals.
“We are a team that always wants to win everything. This season, we want to win everything again,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said.
“That will be difficult, but we have the confidence we gained last year. We want this title again.”
Aleix Garcia scored both of the hosts’ goals, while PSG lost centre-back Illia Zabarnyi to a red card on 37 minutes for conceding a second spot-kick of the match.
Leverkusen also had captain Robert Andrich dismissed for crashing his elbow into Doue’s jaw a few minutes earlier.
Leverkusen coach Kasper Hjulmand told Amazon Prime that his side “lost it in seven minutes before halftime”.
“We were level but we wanted too much,” he added. “We were too open and made too many mistakes in that seven-minute period.
“We met the best team in the world right now. They’re very strong.”
PSG have been injury-hit and inconsistent this season, but once both teams were reduced to 10 men, they dominated their hapless hosts.
PSG’s bid to go back-to-back on the European stage will face tougher tests than the rebuilding Leverkusen, who fielded six starters that only joined the club in the summer.
The French champions showcased their attacking riches alongside the steel needed to overcome setbacks borne out of last year’s breakthrough campaign.
PSG’s preparation for the game was boosted by the news that Dembélé and captain Marquinhos were fit enough to make the trip to Germany.
The duo, crucial to PSG’s barnstorming treble last season, watched from the bench as PSG took the lead after just seven minutes.
Mendes hit a cross over the Leverkusen defence for Pacho to head in at the far post.
Leverkusen were awarded a penalty for a Zabarnyi handball with 25 minutes gone, but Alejandro Grimaldo hit the post with his spot-kick.
The writing looked to be on the wall for Leverkusen when they were reduced to 10 men by Andrich’s needless foul on Doue on 33 minutes.
But they were then handed a lifeline shortly afterwards when Zabarnyi’s performance went from bad to nightmarish as he gave away a second penalty and saw red for clumsily bringing down Christian Kofane as the last man, with Garcia scoring from the spot.
Rather than tighten up, the red card galvanised the French side, who reacted by scoring three goals in eight minutes to stun the hosts.
Doue scored twice either side of a Kvaratskhelia scorcher to go into the break 4-1 up and cruising.
Mendes scored five minutes into the second half to help PSG pick up where they had left off.
While Garcia’s long-distance stunner on 54 minutes was a rare Leverkusen highlight, PSG had the last words.
Dembélé cut the ball home from a tight angle and Vitinha added even more gloss on the final score, rounding out an incredible European night for the defending champions.
(With inputs from AFP)
