Paris Saint-Germain star Angel Di Maria is closing in on Mohamed Salah, Gonzalo Higuain and Patrick Kluivert’s Champions League goal record.
The Argentina international put up a man-of-the-match display in the Ligue 1 side’s 3-0 triumph over RB Leipzig in Tuesday’s semi-final clash settled at Estadio da Luz in Lisbon.
WE’VE DONE IT! 🤩
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) August 18, 2020
WE ARE IN THE FINAL OF THE @ChampionsLeague!
❤️💙#𝗪𝗲𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀 pic.twitter.com/ZKdaUU4hqH
Di Maria got a goal and two assists as Thomas Tuchel’s men reached the tournament’s final for the first time in the club’s history.
He crossed for Marquinhos to power in the opener after 11 minutes before profiting from some Neymar trickery to double his team’s advantage before half-time.
In the 56th minute, he set up Juan Bernat for the third as the Parisians booked a place in Sunday’s final and will square off against either Lyon or Bayern Munich.
The 32-year-old has now stayed unbeaten in all 17 Champions League matches he has scored in – with 15 wins and two draws, within touching distance of Liverpool’s Salah run in 18 games.
17 - Ángel Di María is unbeaten in all 17 @ChampionsLeague matches he’s scored in (W15 D2 – 21 goals in total) – only Mohamed Salah (18), Gonzalo Higuaín (21) and Patrick Kluivert (25) have scored in more games without defeat in the competition’s history. Charm. #RBLPSG pic.twitter.com/TNy4UHnbuL
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 18, 2020
For Gonzalo Higuain, he is undefeated in 21 games has netted in, while 1994–95 winner Kluivert holds the record of not losing in 25 Champions Leagues ties he has scored in.
87’ Another double change, Choupo and Sarabia! #RBLPSG pic.twitter.com/xTUGrf600U
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) August 18, 2020
After an impressive showing, he was replaced with three minutes left to play by Pablo Sarabia. After the game, he expressed his delight with PSG’s performance while revealing they will keep working hard to win the prize at stake.
"We ate them up from minute one," Di Maria said in quotes published on the BBC. "It's going to be tough to sleep between now and the final.
"We worked hard all game and we showed we deserve to be here. It doesn't matter who we face, either Bayern or Lyon, we'll give our all.
"We're very happy. It's a first for the club. We worked hard and played a great game. We want to make history for the club. We succeeded tonight and we're in the final – that's very important. We have to continue like tonight to make our dream come true."
Having won a domestic treble of Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and Ligue 1, plus the Trophee des Champions, this is shaping up to be the most famous season in the club's history.