Paris Saint-Germain delivered arguably their best performance of the season — and one of the wildest matches in recent UEFA Champions League memory — thrashing Bayer Leverkusen 7-2 away from home, despite playing over 50 minutes with 10 men following a nightmare outing from Illia Zabarnyi.

The Ukrainian defender endured the worst night of his professional career, conceding two penalties, earning a yellow card, and then being sent off with a straight red — all before halftime.

The chaos began in the 23rd minute when Zabarnyi handled the ball under pressure from Claudio Echeverri, who bulldozed through PSG’s back line. The referee pointed to the spot and booked the Ukrainian, but Andrea Grimaldi struck the post, letting PSG off the hook — temporarily.

Things only got worse for Zabarnyi in the 37th minute. A long ball over the top found Koffi, and Zabarnyi dragged him down with both arms — penalty again, this time with a straight red. Aleix Garcia converted with precision, drawing Leverkusen level at 1-1 and evening the player count after Leverkusen's earlier dismissal.

Yes, there was a red card for the hosts too — and a turning point. Bayer captain Robert Andrich was sent off after VAR review upgraded his elbow on Warren Zaïre-Emery from yellow to red. From there, Leverkusen completely lost control.

Before all that, PSG had taken an early lead through Willian Pacho, who scored his first-ever goal for the club in the 7th minute — a powerful header from a pinpoint Nuno Mendes corner.

But after Zabarnyi’s dismissal, PSG clicked into another gear. In the 41st minute, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia found Zaïre-Emery unmarked in the box — 2-1. Three minutes later, it was Khvicha himself on the scoresheet, smashing home after his initial shot was blocked, bouncing the rebound in off both posts.

Then, deep into added time before the break, PSG struck again — a stunning counterattack finished off by Zaïre-Emery with a curling strike from outside the area. Halftime: 4-1 to 10-man PSG. Unreal.

Second Half Madness Continues

The tempo didn’t drop after the interval. Nuno Mendes got on the scoresheet with a calm finish in a one-on-one situation. Aleix Garcia gave Leverkusen brief hope with his second goal — a sensational long-range strike — but that only delayed the inevitable.

Enter Ousmane Dembélé. The Frenchman needed just four minutes on the pitch to leave his mark. After a clever through ball from Bradley Barcola, Dembélé fired in from an absurdly tight angle, the ball deflecting in off Mark Flekken.

Finally, Vitinha capped off a “walk-in-the-park” attacking move with a trademark long-range effort to make it 7-2 — a historic scoreline for PSG on the road.

Record-Breaking Night

This result now stands as the highest-scoring match of this year’s Champions League group stage, surpassing the previous 4-4 draw between Juventus and Borussia Dortmund.

2025-26 UEFA Champions League

Bayer 04 - PSG 2:7 (1:4)
Goals: Pacho, 7 (0:1); Aleix Garcia, 38 (penalty) (1:1); Doue D., 41 (1:2); Kvaratskhelia, 44 (1:3); Doue D., 45 (1:4); Mendes N., 50 (1:5); Aleix Garcia, 54 (2:5); Dembele O., 66 (2:6); Vitinha F., 90 (2:7)

Bayer 04: Flekken; Arthur Soares; Badé L.; Tapsoba E.; Grimaldo; Fernández Ez. (Mensah, 81); Andrich (till 33); Aleix Garcia; Echeverri (Maza, 46); Kofane (Belocian, 52); Poku E. (Ben Seghir, 64)
Substitution: Maza (from 46); Belocian (from 52); Ben Seghir (from 64); Mensah (from 81)
Bench: Blaswich; Lomb; Izekor
Yellow Cards: Echeverri 43; Tapsoba E. 45
Red cards: Andrich 33'

PSG: Chevalier L.; Hakimi; Mendes N.; Zabarnyi (till 37); Vitinha F.; Kvaratskhelia (Dembele O., 63); Mayulu (Lee Kang-in, 63); Zaire-Emery (Ndjantou, 76); Pacho; Doue D. (Lucas Hernandez, 46); Barcola B. (Mbaye, 72)
Substitution: Lucas Hernandez (from 46); Lee Kang-in (from 63); Dembele O. (from 63); Mbaye (from 72); Ndjantou (from 76)
Bench: Safonov M.; Marin R.; Beraldo L.; Marquinhos; Ramos G.
Yellow Cards: Zabarnyi 23
Red cards: Zabarnyi 37'