The song remains the same for PSG in Europe, no matter the manager, the directors or the players out on the pitch. After an insipid and frail performance in Munich, the Parisians – who never really looked like overturning the first-leg deficit – were outclassed by a more assured Bayern Munich who were up to the occasion.
The first half oscillated between the two teams sizing each other up tactically, and end-to-end spells of action. PSG came closest to opening the scoring, as Achraf Hakimi forced Sommer into an error that saw Vitinha presented with the ball in front of an empty net – but Matthijs De Ligt came to the Bavarians’ rescue. The hosts saw several chances come their way too, notably the impressive Jamal Musiala forcing a save from an assured Gianluigi Donnarumma.
With Marquinhos only able to complete just over half an hour of play, his replacement Mukiele, also returning from injury, was only able to last ten minutes himself – as a result, 17-year-old El Chadaille Bitshiabu was thrown into the club’s biggest game of the season. He was soon called into action as Eric Maxim Choupo Moting had the ball in the net – but his goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR check.
The forward eventually found the net against his former club, though, as Marco Verratti was pressured off the ball, before Goretzka played it to the Cameroon international for a simple finish. There was little sign that Christophe Galtier’s men would be able to get back into the game from then on, with virtually incisive edge to the attack. Even as the defenders pushed up, Bayern punished the visitors soon later as Serge Gnabry wrapped up the tie.
Christophe Galtier’s future now hangs in the balance, with PSG’s season effectively over – it’s a crushing blow and an astonishingly poor performance given the team looked to be on the up again, with three straight wins in the league. Now, defending the Ligue 1 title is all they have left.
PSG Player Ratings
Gianluigi Donnarumma, 5
Achraf Hakimi, 2 – Alphonso Davies decisively won his battle against the Moroccan – who was admittedly returning from injury, but constantly missed the mark with his crosses, and was equally at sea defensively.
Marquinhos, N/A – The defender was a doubt in the lead-up to the match after an intercostal tear sustained over the weekend, and had cut his warm-up short in the build-up – but soldiered on and started anyway. His game, though, would only last 35 minutes, before he was replaced by Nordi Mukiele. The Frenchman would only last the rest of the half, coming off injured for El Chadaille Bitshiabu at half-time.
Sergio Ramos, 6 – PSG’s best player across the two legs – his experience in these games clear to see – the Spaniard won the majority of his duels and tried to be a calming presence when the team was collapsing around him.
Danilo Pereira, 5
Nuno Mendes, 6
Fabián Ruiz, 4
Marco Verratti, 3 – For the sake of completeness, the Italian had a very good first half, his line-breaking essential to the chances that came PSG’s way during the spells of end-to-end play that dominated the latter stages. The second, though, was another matter, as he lost the ball on both of the Bayern Munich goals and was unable to help break down a resolute home defence.
Vitinha, 3 – Just as the Portuguese midfielder looked to have rediscovered his early-season form, he suffers another dip on the big stage – poor decision making marred his performance, which brought no real midfield presence both going forward and defensively. Fluffed his lines when an open-goal opportunity came his way in the first half.
Lionel Messi, 3
Kylian Mbappé, 3 – All eyes were on the club’s all-time top scorer, but he was shackled by Dayot Upamecano all night – the latter’s case as the world’s best defender right now continuing to grow.
GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin
