Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich stunned the football world eight days ago by concluding the first leg of this semi-final with an incredible 5-4 that will be remembered. For this return match, expectations were therefore just as high. On paper, Luis Enrique and Vincent Kompany should have deplored the absences of Achraf Hakimi and Serge Gnabry (end of season), but had almost all their weapons to offer us a crazy comeback round. On the Munich side, the starting lineup chosen by Kompany is almost identical to that lined up in Paris, only Laimer took Davies’ place. Among the reigning European champions, Warren Zaire-Emery logically replaced Achraf Hakimi. This repositioning of the Frenchman benefited Fabian Ruiz, started for the first time in C1 since his match against Sporting CP on January 20. Finally, DĂ©sirĂ© DouĂ© was still preferred to Bradley Barcola. For this return leg, we could logically have expected to see PSG take the tide against a Bayern team determined to quickly erase this goal deficit. But we must believe that the Parisians have definitely learned to manage the pressure of very big matches.
From the third minute, on a delivery from Ruiz, Kvaratskhelia ran down the left to allow DembĂ©lĂ© to open the scoring (0-1, 3rd). Paris could not dream of a better scenario. With a two-goal lead, the Rouge-et-Bleu confirmed their coach’s words the day before the match. Paris wanted to win the match and did not try to back down after this goal. Aggressive in recovery, the capital club played very high and managed rather well to muzzle the two Bavarian arrows, Diaz and Olise, thanks to XXL work from Zaire-Emery and Marquinhos. The opportunity to emphasize that WZE is definitely more than capable of playing Hakimi’s understudy. As for Kane, he was closely held by Pacho and saw his influence on the game reduced. And to create danger, the reigning European champions once again counted on an extraordinary Kvaratskhelia. Untenable on his left side, the Georgian was the main accelerator of the game. Bayern still managed to regain momentum as the minutes passed. After its great start, PSG logically began to draw, but fortunately for them, the Munich attackers were imprecise like these attempts by Diaz (22nd) and Olise (28th).
Everything worked in favor of PSG
Paris gave way, but did not break. And when things could have gone very badly, the referee of the match, Mr. Pinheiro, was very lenient. The first time by whistling a foul before a hand from Mendes (who had already received a yellow card) on a pass from Laimer which could have earned a second yellow and therefore a red (29th). Two minutes later, Pinheiro spared a new compatriot by not calling a penalty after Vitinha cleared Neves’ hand in his area (31st). Two controversial actions which made all of Bayern Munich and the Allianz Arena jump. The worst part of all this is that without an XXL save from Neuer on a header from Neves, Bayern could have been down 2-0 (33rd). At the break, PSG could rejoice in seeing all events turn in their favor and could also thank Safonov for having repelled a full-axis strike from Musiala (45th+2). Upon returning from the locker room, we could logically expect a strong reaction from the Bavarians, exasperated by these two controversial actions and above all obliged to score twice to get back to the level of the Ile-de-France residents. Enough to offer us a match with even more spaces and a permanent attack-defense game even before the hour mark.
Bayern pushed, but it was DouĂ© (56th, 65th) and Kvaratshelia (57th) who had the opportunity to make the break without a still-vigilant Neuer. Opposite, Munich had more than 60% possession of the ball, but still lacked application in attack or fell on an impeccable Safonov against Kane (57th) and Diaz (68th). A boon for the Parisians who, as in the first leg, were starting to show some physical strength. It was also at this moment that Luis Enrique chose to remove DembĂ©lĂ© shortly after the hour mark and replace him with a puncher, Barcola. As at Anfield, PSG then entered a resistance phase to preserve its advantage and hope for a hypothetical counter to kill the match. What DouĂ© almost did twice (72nd, 76th). A quarter of an hour from the end, Luis Enrique decided to close the shop further with the entries of Beraldo and Hernandez in place of Ruiz and DouĂ©. A risky choice in the event of a return from the Bavarians, but which could have paid off if Kvaratskhelia had not got confused just in front of Neuer after another exceptional dribbling sequence (79th). At the very end of the match, the Munich players demanded a third Parisian hand in the area after a series of strikes from Karl and Laimer, but the referee considered that Neves’ hand was stuck to his chest (88th). Valiant, the Parisians finally gave in in the 94th minute against Kane (1-1, 94th). Enough to earn him a pressure-filled end to the match in the stadium that made him king of Europe last season. And it was in an irrepressible atmosphere that Paris held on. For the first time since 2018 and Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid, the title holder will defend his crown on May 30 against Arsenal.
Relive the film of the Bayern Munich-PSG match
