FC Bayern has reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The Munich team came up against Paris Saint-Germain after the 1-0 in the first leg in their own stadium to a 2-0. The French champions, with their superstars Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé, lacked penetrating power.
At the break, however, the German record champions should have been behind. It was only thanks to Matthijs de Ligt that the score was still 0-0 after 45 minutes. Goalkeeper Yann Sommer dribbled unnecessarily against Achraf Hakimi in his own penalty area. The Dutchman then straddled Vitinhas’ shot at the empty goal centimeters from the line (38′).
In the second half, FC Bayern played calmly and efficiently. The opponent only caused a stir with a change. In the second half, PSG coach Christophe Galtier replaced the former Leipziger Nordi Mukiele – the Frenchman only came on in the 36th minute for the ailing captain Marquinhos.
After an hour, the Munich team, who started without Leroy Sané and Serge Gnabry, presented themselves as ice cold. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting converted a pass from Leon Goretzka to make it 1-0 (61st minute). Goretzka and Thomas Müller had previously chased the ball from Marco Verratti in the PSG penalty area. As in the 1-0 first leg success with Kingsley Coman’s goal, a former PSG professional became a nightmare for the French champions, who failed again in Europe, in the second leg.
The highly praised French offensive remained pale. In front of 75,000 spectators in the sold-out stadium, the Munich defense around defense chief Dayot Upamecano and the amazingly calm Josip Stanisic slowed down the attacks by Messi and Mbappé. Significantly, defender Sergio Ramos had the two best opportunities for Paris. The Spaniard failed with a header at Sommer (64th) and also aimed too imprecisely with his second chance (82nd). Substitute Serge Gnabry later increased it to 2-0 (89th).
More to come.
