Nobody doubts Kylian MbappeтАЩs ability to turn football games around. The French striker nearly did it again on Tuesday and could in the return-leg in Munich on March 8. тАЬThe important thing is to go over there and qualify, and from what I saw that’s possible,тАЭ he said after Paris St-Germain lost 0-1 at Parc des Princes.
But what will worry Paris St-Germain (PSG) is how anaemic they looked till Mbappe came on. Bayern Munich lead by the slenderest of margins and there are no away goals this time but a lot will have to change for PSG to go deeper in the Champions League.
They have a history of bottling it. Barcelona, Manchester United and Real Madrid have benefited from PSGтАЩs inability to close out Round of 16 games. Against Barcelona in 2017, they were 4-0 in front going into the return leg. In Paris two years later, Manchester United overturned a two-goal deficit and last year, Karim Benzema did that for Real with a 17-minute hat-trick.
Poor goalkeeping from Gianluigi Donnarumma had started RealтАЩs comeback. On Tuesday, Donnarumma made at least two good saves to deny Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Benjamin Pavard but he should have collected Kingsley ComanтАЩs 53rd minute volley after Alphonso Davies found him. The way wingbacks combined to score was reminiscent of Joshua KimmichтАЩs goal, off a Davies assist, in the 8-2 rout of Barcelona in 2020.
Coman being unmarked, Davies not put under pressure and slipshod goalkeeping summed up PSGтАЩs night. Till Mbappe arrived in the 57th minute, having recovered from a thigh tear sooner than expected.
Bayern had greater possession and, curiously for a team that had more of the ball, also ran more. Nearly 8km more than PSGтАЩs 110.4km, as per numbers provided by UEFA, even though they finished with 10 men after Benjamin PavardтАЩs red card for a second booking.
Joao Cancelo and Coman were comfortably switching play after Choupo-Moting had an early attempt that went over. PSG sat deep, looking for a chance to hit on the break but Neymar Jr being unable to reach MarquinhosтАЩ forward pass early on showed how difficult that would be. This, even though Bayern had deployed a high defensive line.
“We were a bit surprised by how much of the ball we had. We didn’t expect Paris to be so passive; it was a good first half,тАЭ said Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann. тАЬThe two times they really threatened it was offside.тАЭ Both came from Mbappe, one of them having left back Nuno Mendes marginally ahead of BayernтАЩs last defender for what would have been a fine assist.
PSG have now lost five of their last 12 games in all competitions in 2023 which is already one more than they did in all of 2022. So, it cannot be said that used to dominating at home, they are struggling to cope with the intensity of European nights. Not after defeats to Lens, Rennes, Marseille and Monaco.
тАЬBayern really got on top of us and we struggled to hold the ball high up the pitch. The first half was very difficult for us,тАЭ PSG manager Christophe Galtier said. He is one defeat from joining Laurent Blanc, Unai Emery, Thomas Tuchel, Carlo Ancelotti and Mauricio Pochettino as managers who failed to get the club their first Champions League title.
Galtier is the seventh manager since 2011 when Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) took over. Going into this game following defeats to Marseille (French Cup, also Round of 16) and Monaco тАУ Neymar agreed with media reports that he and sporting director Luis Campos had an angry exchange after the game тАУ Galtier became the first since 2011 to have lost three games in a row.
Since the takeover, QSI have spent $1.1 billion on players, according to AP. The list that includes Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Neymar, Messi , Sergio Ramos, Donnarumma, even Mbappe. On a night PSG midfielder Warren Za├пre-Emery became the youngest to start a Champions League knockout match at the age of 16 years, 343 days, it needs to be pointed out that among those who left seeking more games was Coman. It was ComanтАЩs goal in the 2020 final that denied PSG.
тАЬIt’s the city where I was born and raised so it was difficult to celebrate here,тАЭ he said explaining the muted reaction after scoring the winner on Tuesday. “(My goal) was something we work on in training and I got it just right.тАЭ
ComanтАЩs grown, moving to Juventus and then to Bayern. PSG continue to look like a bunch of famous names, not all of them young, struggling for coherence on the pitch.
