Bayern Munich earned a 2-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes to go top of the Champions League’s league phase and hand the champions of Europe their first loss in this season’s competition.
Vincent Kompany’s side shocked the Parisian faithful in the first half, as Luiz Díaz scored twice to give a sizeable buffer. However, the Colombian soon went from hero to zero after a reckless challenge on Achraf Hakimi saw him dismissed before the break.
PSG lost Ousmane Dembélé and Hakimi through injuries, but pulled one back through substitute João Neves; however, it wasn’t enough to secure at least a point.
As it happened
Bayern rested their entire front three in their weekend-victory over Bayer Leverkusen, and that paid dividends immediately, with the visitors breaking the deadlock inside four minutes. After an interception near the halfway line, Serge Gnabry brilliantly flicked the ball through to Michael Olise, who was denied by Lucas Chevalier, only for Díaz to pick up the loose ball and fire home.
The European champions responded with an extended period of possession, though it took them 15 minutes to have a go at goal. In the end, Fabián Ruiz’s shot was deflected wide of his teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Bayern soon had a deflection of their own, as Aleksandar Pavlović’s shot bounced off Willian Pacho past the left post.
The Parisians thought they had equalised through Dembélé, who chested the ball into the back of the net after a volleyed cross from Ruiz. However, their joy was short-lived and the goal was disallowed for offside after a quick VAR review.
To make matters worse, the Ballon d’Or winner was promptly taken off thanks to an injury concern and marched straight into the dressing room, adding to PSG’s frustrating injury crisis.
Luis Enrique’s side found very little room in the attacking third, but a long ball to Bradley Barcola exposed Bayern’s back line. The winger brought the ball into his stride and tried to poke it past Manuel Neuer, but the Bayern captain made himself big and made a great save to deny him.
Down the other end, Gnabry came agonisingly close, but his low shot from outside the box made contact with both posts before bouncing back into play to PSG’s relief.
However, it didn’t take long for the visitors to find a second, and Díaz was at the double. The Colombian dispossessed Marquinhos on the edge of the box and finished into the corner past Chevalier to double his side’s lead just past the half-hour work.
PSG didn’t give up and tried their luck through substitute Lee Kang-in, who received the ball from Barcola and aimed for the top corner, but missed.
Bayern were clearly on top in the final stages and nearly had a third with Josip Stanišić and Gnabry queuing up in the box but failing to get on the end of Joshua Kimmich’s pass across.
Ruiz tried his luck from distance, but saw his shot elevate way over the crossbar, summing up PSG’s first-half display.
In fact, Kompany’s side could easily have had three or four before halftime. First, Harry Kane played the ball through to Stanišić, who dispatched it into the corner after the flag had gone up for offside.
In the subsequent attack, Kimmich crept into the penalty area and squeezed through the defensive line, but saw his shot slowly bobble past the post.
And then there was drama in an eventful stoppage-time period. Díaz got beaten for pace by Hakimi and lunged into a late challenge, seriously injuring the Moroccan international after trapping his ankle. While initially issued only a yellow card, Bayern’s summer signing was eventually dismissed after another VAR review.
There was time for one more attack before the break, and Kane tested Chevalier in the near corner, firing with power right at the keeper.
The hosts lost two key players to injuries in the first half, but emerged from the interval with renewed hope against 10-man Bayern.
PSG camped outside Bayern’s box, but just couldn’t find an opening, and surprisingly, Bayern Munich were the first to extract a shot in the second half, as Olise carried the ball down the right side, before cutting in and missing.
It took until the 65th minute for PSG to test Neuer as Kvaratskhelia’s shot flew straight into the hands of the German stopper after Vitinha found him in the box.
The Portuguese in midfield was the most involved player in the second half for the hosts, his shot from outside the box beaten away by Neuer.
There were still chances for Kompany’s team, as Stanišić drove down the left side before offloading to the edge for Olise, who fired straight at Chevalier.
The game was gradually opening up, and Lee was the latest to shoot from distance, collected by Neuer once more.
PSG finally found the breakthrough in the 74th minute as substitute Neves cut the deficit in half. Lee delivered the ball into the box, and the Portuguese international met the ball on the half-volley, sending the ball into the top corner after a bounce off the hallowed turf.
Luis Enrique’s side was building momentum after the goal as Vitinha looked to find the bottom corner from the edge of the box, gathered by Neuer.
Warren Zaïre-Emery had shifted to right-back in the absence of Hakimi, but nearly had an impact in Bayern’s box. The Frenchman was found by Lee, who played a beautifully disguised ball into the box, but failed to beat Neuer, who made a great save with his right outstretched arm.
Lee was becoming the second half’s outstanding performer, and his partnership with Neves almost earned PSG an equaliser. The South Korean delivered another left-footed cross and Neuer was rooted to the spot, but Neves’s free header failed to hit the target.
Vitinha remained in charge of long-range attempts, but Neuer was too hard to beat from distance.
The 39-year-old was in action in the next attack, and this time he comfortably collected a shot from Kvaratskhelia.
Lee deserved a goal after his second-half display, but his left-footed shot narrowly evaded the bottom corner as Bayern maintained the one-goal advantage after normal time.
There were five minutes of stoppage time, but the European champions were held at bay. Bayern put on a show of authority in attack and defence, and are certainly the team to beat this season.
The line-ups:
PSG: Chevalier; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Ruiz, Zaïre-Emery, Vitinha; Kvaratskhelia, Dembélé, Barcola
BAY: Neuer; Laimer, Tah, Upamecano, Stanišić; Kimmich, Pavlović; Olise, Gnabry, Díaz: Kane