Champions: Bayern-Psg 2-0, Choupo-Moting and Gnabry

The almost impalpable trot of Messi and Mbappé is the most suitable snapshot to tell the impotence of Paris Saint-Germain outside their borders, a team full of talent that in 180 minutes fails to score even once against Bayern Munich . Contingencies certainly don’t help, from injuries to Verratti’s decidedly opaque performance, responsible for both Bavarian goals. But at the same time they are not exempt: if elimination from the Champions League occurs four times in the round of 16 in the last six editions, the problem is endemic and not episodic. The Germans, on the other hand, confirm themselves as one of the favorites for the final victory, after yet another compact and shrewd performance, enhanced by a cynical concreteness in a match that is far from the emotional tenor of the last previous match at the Allianz Arena.

The match

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Nagelsmann does not experiment and proposes the same eleven lined up in Stuttgart in the last round of the championship, with Stanisic on the right in place of the suspended Pavard; Choupo-Moting leads the attack with Musiala, Muller and Coman behind him, only bench for Sané and Mané. Even Galtier, without the injured Kimpembé and Neymar, does not deviate from the set-up he has relied on in recent outings, with Messi and Mbappé up front and a three-man defence. The Argentine has license to lower himself, above all because Bayern set up the non-possession phase with man-marks all over the pitch and a certain dynamism is the only way to gain space. The first ring of the evening is a diagonal from Goretzka on the quarter of an hour, on which Donnarumma relaxes with confidence. Both formations also ask their wingers for a great offensive work and interesting spaces open up on the wings in the transitions. This is what happens in the 25th minute, when Mbappé widens and Upamecano follows him, leaving a gap into which Mendes slips; Messi is needed, but his attempts are neutralized by the providential closures first of Davies and then of De Ligt. PSG make more possession, the Germans find the way to kick more easily: Musiala does everything by himself, turning around well in the area, Donnarumma however opposes (31 ‘). Galtier loses Marquinhos due to injury and sends in Mukiele, not too used to playing central third. However, the match lasted only a few minutes, because at half-time he was substituted for the young Bitshiabu, who thus celebrated his 18th birthday. Before going to rest, in the 38th minute, the sliding door of the evening: Sommer launches himself into an improbable ball and chain exit, Vitinha steals the ball from him and places it too delicately into the empty net; De Ligt slides in and saves on the line.

The recovery

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Upon their return, Bayern Munich are much more convinced, both because they cut supplies to Messi and Mbappé and because they find a way to involve the attacking midfielders much more. Choupo-Moting is the absolute protagonist of the initial phases of the second half. He involuntarily opposes Kimmich’s almost sure-fire shot, a header is disallowed because Muller – offside – tries to deflect the ball and in the end manages to score regularly. Very serious carelessness by Verratti, who loses the ball on the edge of the area under the combined pressure of Muller and Goretzka; the latter supports Choupo-Moting who only has to deposit on the net (61′). Paris Saint-Germain tries to immediately recapture the match three minutes later, but Sommer is overtaken by Sergio Ramos’ header with a highly reactive intervention. The schemes are skipped, for Galtier, who plays all out by increasing the attackers, the greatest dangers however always come from the Spanish defender: he always tries again from a corner in the 82nd minute, this time the goalkeeper is beaten and can only watch the ball touches the post to his right. It is still too little, moreover the advance without criterion is often counterproductive and the Parisians are punctually punished. Nagelsmann inserts Cancelo and Gnabry for the last minutes, the men who build the double. Verratti loses another ball, the Portuguese kicks off the counterattack by launching his teammate who puts Donnarumma on the far post. A foot save by the former Milan on Davies prevents the passive from becoming heavier in recovery. For Paris Saint-Germain the conquest of Europe is postponed too soon once again.