The difference, according to Thomas Müller, was that we were a stronger team as a whole, he said in his post-game interview.
On the surface, this line seems straightforward, but it acknowledges what makes Bayern Munich everything that PSG is not. This year’s Bayern is not the squad that usually has the Bundesliga wrapped up by this point, but they managed to defeat a PSG team that was endowed with individual skill but beset by a lack of team coherence.
With 16 of their last 18 Champions League victories at the Allianz Arena, Bayern is a fearsome force at home. While PSG was responsible for the only setback during that run two years ago, they never came close to derailing Bayern here.
Bayern Goalkeeper:
Yet, Yann Sommer made an effort to keep it engaging. The Bayern goalkeeper, who is filling in for the injured Manuel Neuer, was dribbling between Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi in his own area when he decided to sleepwalk into danger. It did not go well; for a terrible minute, it appeared he had handed it to Vitinha on a plate, but Bayern defender Matthijs de Ligt saw the danger and cleared the ball with an essential intervention on the line.
Two were ultimately involved, though more would not have been flattering. The team led by Julian Nagelsmann played solid defence, controlled the midfield, and understood that although one goal would put PSG on the verge of defeat, two goals would be the final straw.
The first came as a result of Müller intimidating Marco Verratti on the PSG box’s edge, which allowed Leon Goretzka to lay it on a plate for Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who complied from close range. Similar to how Kingsley Coman returned to haunt PSG in Paris last month, this time, it was the player who sat on the bench as PSG was defeated by Bayern in the 2020 Champions League final.
The second goal, which put PSG on the ground late in the game, was a connection between replacement Joao Cancelo and Serge Gnabry, who was then set up for a precise finish into the bottom corner.
Before leaving the field by himself, Lionel Messi spent the final few minutes of the game pacing and rubbing his head. This could have been his last performance in a competition he has won four times because he is 35 and out of contract at the end of the season. For a player whose incredible career peaked in Doha in December and appeared to be rapidly declining with Paris, the allure of a far-off nation gets progressively stronger.
Even the legendary Messi cannot hide the flaws in Project PSG, which has never appeared to be closer to losing the Champions League. Neymar might be done for the year, Presnel Kimpembe’s absence in defence due to injury, and captain Marquinhos’ early exit are all negatives. But one still hopes for more from a team funded by Qatar with limitless blank checks.
With a 36-year-old in defence, a 35-year-old in attack, and two 17-year-olds towards the game’s conclusion, PSG appears to be an odd and mismatched group of players. Although money can buy everything, PSG now appears to be a disorganised organisation without a defined football strategy with the departure of sporting director Leonardo. a marketing campaign that is not sure what it is doing.
