Kolkata: Down by a goal before kick-off, Bayern Munich were trailing by two after three minutes. Their night in Munich felt Sisyphean from then on. Defending champions Paris St-Germain (PSG) will be between Arsenal and a first Champions League title. A contest that will pit the most attacking team against the one with the best defensive record.
Vincent Kompany had asked for more from his team and the fans. Framed by a ring of red, flags fluttering and a cauldron bouncing, the supporters—including a host of former Bayern stars such as Uli Hoeness, Karl Heinz Rummennigge, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Arjen Robben—did their best in Munich. But they could not rouse a team that looked off-key in the second leg of this Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.
PSG scored soon after through Ousmane Dembele and for 91 minutes kept a team that has scored a record 116 goals in the Bundesliga from getting a goal. Even Harry Kane knew it was too late when his snap left-footer made it 1-1 in 90+4. 6-5 was the tie’s final scoreline.
Dembele’s goal highlighted the wondrous ability of their attacking players but the manner in which PSG smothered Bayern explains why they are in successive finals. Luis Diaz and Michael Olise had dazzled in the first leg but failed to make an impact in the second because PSG would force them inside into traffic or make crucial blocks.
By the 21st minute Willian Pacho had made three blocks and Vitinha and Nuno Mendes had tag-teamed to deny Olise. Vitinha then blocked Kane’s attempt to find Olise. A pattern was set. It continued beyond regulation time when Warren Zaire-Emery, excellent as stand-in right-back because Achraf Hakimi was injured, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia combined to deny Diaz.
Olise did break free in the 28th minute but could not get the shot to bend into Matvey Safonov’s goal. When he did again in the second half, it was too close to Safonov. Diaz managed a flick but PSG’s goalie was equal to the task. Bayern ended the first half strongly with Jamal Musiala testing Safonov and Jonathan Tah failing to keep a free header on target, but the four minutes to half-time was the only time PSG’s goal felt like it was under siege.
“We missed the killer mentality that PSG had to score the goals,” said Kompany, the Bayern boss. That’s one way of looking at it. “The character we showed against a team like Bayern is so positive,” said Enrique. That’s another.
Bayern also had a penalty claim turned down because Vitinha’s shot hit Joao Neves’s hand and there was an earlier call for handball on Nuno Mendes. The first was not given because a shot away from goal hitting a teammate is judged differently and the second was judged to be on the T-shirt line.
Luis Enrique has forged a team that can seamlessly switch positions –left back Nuno Mendes trying to test Manuel Neuer on the break is normal for them – and can attack and defend as a unit. They pressure by conceding throw-ins deep in enemy territory as was evident in Safonov’s goalkicks and start play by giving the opposition a throw near their goal.
For all their emphasis on the collective, PSG also have some of the world’s best individual talent. They scored after Fabian Ruiz and Kvaratskhelia played a slick exchange of passes to send the Georgian speeding down the left. As is expected of full backs now, Konrad Laimer was up the pitch and Dayot Upamecano was not fast enough to rein in Kvaratskhelia. He looked up and found Dembele free who then blasted into the roof of Neuer’s net. Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola draw players to them and often dribble past them. And space opens up elsewhere. In the 73rd minute, Kvaratskhelia wriggled past three to find Doue who went for the near post possibly because Neuer was twice beaten there in Paris. Earlier, Neves had guided a header that would have needed a tap-in had Neuer not pulled off a magnificent flying save.
Over to Budapest then. No team have scored as many as PSG’s 44 and no team has let in as few as Arsenal’s six. PSG can win in different ways. Will Arsenal back their defensive game, draw the champions out, hit on the break and bank on their efficiency in set-plays? May 30 will tell us.
