#red-cards

#red-cards

Five goals, two red cards and two penalties. The first half of Bayer Leverkusen's 7-2 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday was wild. Defending champion PSG ran up a 4-1 halftime lead in Germany after a breathtaking first period at the BayArena. The action was relentless from the moment William Pacho gave the visitors the lead with a seventh-minute header. What followed was chaos, with both teams reduced to 10 men and Leverkusen awarded two penalties.

Despite dominating possession, Madrid lacked a cutting edge and failed to properly test David Soria until the final ten minutes of the contest after two quickfire red cards. Allan Nyom and Alex Sancris were both sent off within seven minutes of each other, with the former dismissed just 44 seconds after coming on for an aggressive off-ball arm check on Vinicius Junior in the 76th minute.

Both sides ended the tense affair with 10 players after Dominique Janssen was shown a straight red card shortly before half-time, while Alexia Fernandez received a second yellow in the 74th minute. The winning goal came from the boot of Fridolina Rolfo, who scored past Lola Gallardo with a stunning volley midway through the first half. Ella Toone's awkward header fell kindly for Rolfo, who made no mistake with her finish at the near post.