Tuesday’s match in Munich was poised to be an exciting one, with the Bundesliga league leaders facing the team top of Ligue 1 as both sides sought much-needed points in this new UEFA Champions League format. However, right from minute one, there only seemed to be one team that was going to take all three points in this fixture.
Kim Min-jae’s header on the rebound opened the scoring in the 38th minute, before the dismissal of Ousmane Dembélé early in the second period put the writing on the wall for Luis Enrique’s side. The result sees Bayern Munich move into 12th place, whilst Paris Saint-Germain sit one place adrift of a round-of-16 playoff spot.
As it happened
Bayern Munich got the game underway at the Allianz Arena, as they looked to turn around their recent disappointing form in Europe, having lost two of their last three games in the competition. The German side started the stronger of the two, with Luis Enrique’s men penned inside their own half. Just 7 minutes into the clash, Jamal Musiala had a chance to give his side an early lead. The youngster brought the ball down brilliantly with his chest, after a clever pick out from Joshua Kimmmich, before a fired effort was denied by Matvey Safonov. After his recent fine form, you’d have fancied Musiala to put away that chance.
15 minutes into the tie and the visitors had barely advanced out of their own half. Apart from a shot blocked from Ousmane Dembélé, les Parisiens were struggling against a dominant Bayern Munich, with that half-chance being their only touch in the box after a quarter-of-an-hour. Although Bayern Munich were dominating, the game was waiting to be sparked into life and nearly was by Kingsley Coman after gliding into the PSG box, with his eventual effort whistling past the post.
Down the other end, Warren Zaire-Emery had one of the visitor’s best chances of the half. The ball was fizzed across from the left-hand-side, with the youngster in space, but he was unable to find a clean connection, resulting in dragging it wide, and he would have felt he should have at least tested Manual Neuer.
Luis Enrique’s side were beginning to find the key to unlock the Bayern Munich door, with Neuer getting down to the bottom corner to save Dembélé’s effort, before Joao Neves blasted wide. Despite a brighter spell from PSG, Kim Min-jae headed in after a set-piece routine from the home side, to grab his first goal in the Champions League and put Bayern a goal to the good. It wasn’t the first time Bayern Munich had threatened from a set-piece, with Kompany’s side ruthless on this occasion. Kimmich’s corner caused problems for the surrounded Safonov, who was only able to pary it out as far as Kim, who powered his header with conviction into the top left corner.
Embed from Getty ImagesMoments later, Coman was unlucky not to double his side’s lead. A blistering pace battle between Achraf Hakimi and Coman saw the latter come out on top, with the Frenchman opting to go with his right foot and dink it over the keeper, narrowly missing the target. The last chance of the half fell to Leroy Sané, who shifted it onto his right foot before a low, powerful shot was collected by Safonov. Going into the break, Bayern Munich headed in with a deserved lead thanks to the header of Kim.
After regrouping in the interval, PSG came out more assertive in the second half, looking to break down an organised Bayern Munich backline and level the scoring. The task would be difficult, however, with Die Bayern keeping clean sheets in their last 6 in all competitions.
Things went from bad to worse for Paris Saint Germain, with Dembélé receiving his second yellow card of the night, resulting in the Frenchman’s dismissal. The winger made a late challenge on Alphonso Davies, leaving the referee no other choice than to show him red. It was a huge loss in the game for the visitors, with Dembélé looking the most likely to create something in the side.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, PSG came close to clawing it back to 1-1. A delicious ball was delivered across the face of the six-yard box by the newly introduced, Kang-In Lee, with Nuno Mendes’ lunge at the teasing ball unable to generate a meaningful connection.
Bayern Munich were looking to wrap up the game with a second, controlling the game since the sending off of Dembélé, as Coman blazed over after the ball was played into his path by Harry Kane. Musiala was inches away from adding to the scoring, striking the post after a curling effort was finger-tipped onto the woodwork by Safonov.
A late push by the visitors wasn’t enough to see them earn anything, with Bayern Munich taking a deserved three points and beating the French side for a fourth consecutive time in the competition.
The lineups
FCB: Neuer; Laimer, Upamecano, Kim, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Sané, Musiala, Coman; Kane.
PSG: Safonov; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Ruiz, Vitinha, Neves; Zaïre-Emery, Dembélé, Barcola.