One more year, the same story as always in the Champions League for Paris Saint-Germain, which is beginning to look more and more like a failed club. Neymar was the one who went down due to injury this time, but there were Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi, recently named The Best by FIFA, on the pitch. It was not enough to subdue the Argentine beast noire in Europe, represented like no one else by the figure of Thomas Müller, who made his stadium a fortress and not gave up space for the Parisian hope (2-0).
The Parisians arrived with all their options intact at the second leg of the Champions League against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, after having lost at the Parc des Princes by the minimum (0-1) with a goal from their former youth player, Kingsley Eat. However, they ended up falling as usual when least expected, and add and five eliminations in the round of 16 in the last seven years.
In the first part, both teams enjoyed alternatives and chances, but neither was able to make a point or take full control. Bayern had more ball, but PSG came out well on the counter. Thus came the best of the first period, with Messi unable to define up to three times inside the Bavarian area against the Swiss wall, Sommer, who had a great game. The bad news kept coming for the French, who first lost Marquinhos to injury, and then saw De Ligt save from behind the posts, from an empty goal, a shot from Vitinha that was too weak.
At 0-0, Parisian hopes were intact, and Galtier’s men came out to surprise Nagelsmann’s men in the second period. However, the surprise was taken by them, and it could have been twice. The first dangerous attack by the Germans ended in a goal from Choupo-Moting, who finished off with a header but could not prevent Müller, offside, from touched the ball just enough for the VAR to cancel the goal.
PSG’s siege of Sommer’s goal continued, but with more haste than football. Despair seized the French team, with a Messi missing in action and a misguided Mbappé into space. Even so, they were still down by just one goal, and they did not lose faith… Until Choupo-Moting reappeared. Between Goreztka and Müller they recovered a ball that Verratti intended to play with his back to the edge of his own area, and his mistake was capitalized by the German striker to beat Donnarumma at pleasure after the pass of death.
The script did not change until the end. The PSG turned completely in the area of the muniqueses, but with precipitation and a misused intensity. In fact, the locals came out very well against the counterattack, who were able to sentence first through Sané, and they ended up doing it with a goal from Gnabry. Before, Sommer had brought out the best of the French with a save, a great header from Ramos who had another with the head to tie it that missed him by millimeters. In addition, Mané made another one already after 90, but it was also annulled for offside.
Thus, neither Mbappé will be able to win his first Champions League, nor will Messi be able to reconquer a trophy that has resisted him since 2015, nor will Al-Khelaifi be able to satisfy Qatar’s wishes, after millions and millions of euros invested, because Bayern, a great Europe, He proved that greatness cannot be bought.
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Bayern Munich-PSG, live: last minute of the Champions League round of 16
